Mondo Knows Facts

The blue-ringed octopus carries venom strong enough to kill humans

A tiny blue-ringed octopus holds enough tetrodotoxin to paralyse 26 adults.

Despite measuring only 12 to 20 centimetres across, this Australian octopus produces a potent neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin in its salivary glands. When threatened, iridescent blue rings flash across its yellow skin as a vivid warning before delivering a painless bite.

Blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa), Parsley Bay, Sydney, NSW
Sylke Rohrlach ยท CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท licence ยท source

Where this comes from

Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Tags: octopus, ocean, venom

The blue-ringed octopus carries venom strong enough to kill humans: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?
A tiny blue-ringed octopus holds enough tetrodotoxin to paralyse 26 adults. The figure is taken from Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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