The miraculous MOLLUSC

A true underwater wonder, the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) has three hearts, eight limbs and can change colour and texture, twisting its tentacles into scales, fins or flippers. Also a devoted parent, the female forgoes feeding to watch over clusters of up to 200,000 eggs, gently flushing them with water from her funnel, night and day, to keep them aerated.

It is a bitter-sweet endeavour: the super-smart invertebrate only survives long enough to breed just once before succumbing to the sea shortly after the next generation has hatched.