Witness an Alien-Like Octopus Leave the Water to Travel Across Land

Octopus Changes the Name of the Game by Effortlessly Climbing Across Solid Ground!

In the astonishing video at the top of the page, an alien-like octopus sets off across a rocky, exposed shoreline! Set on the wet rocks of the Northern Australian coast, this incredible creature finds itself in a small pool as the tides pull away! The other creatures stuck in these tidepools become sitting ducks for seabirds and other predators! But this special octopus is hiding a trick up its sleeve, taking the leap from prey to predator, and from aquatic to terrestrial! From underwater, where all octopuses live and breathe, this special species reaches a tentacle up onto the edge of its tidepool. As another tentacle emerges, the octopus begins to pull itself out of the tidepool using its thousands of suction cups! 

The octopus climbs out of the tidepool with surprising speed, shining in the exposed sun. But what is it going to these distances for? Octopuses are incredible hunters, and one little tidepool is far too small of a hunting ground for a hungry octopus! So the brave explorer breaks down boundaries to get to other tidepools after exhausting one’s resources! The resource in questions? Crabs! As the hunter lowers itself into the water of a new tidepool, its disappointed to find nothing aside from a startled fish! But it doesn’t get dissuaded, and moves right on to the next tidepool! This time, the octopus finds what it’s looking for! A crab sits on the edge of the rocky pool, but dives into the water as soon as the predator comes into view. 

While the pool might seem like a reliable recluse, nowhere is safe from a crafty octopus! Diving in after the bright blue crab, the octopus wastes no time in cornering it! Trying to escape and back itself into a safe spot, the crab raises its claws in a last ditch effort to fight back! But its helpless, and the tentacles of the octopus engulf the crab! Completely obstructing the line of sight from camera to crab, the octopus wriggles around as it cracks the crab open!

Octopuses Aren’t Alone With These Remarkable Abilities of These Amphibious ‘Aliens’!

In the incredible video at the top of the page, the Abdopus Aculeatus, a one-of-a-kind species, defies expectations. It shows off its astonishing ability to navigate on land. Bouncing between aquatic and terrestrial environments, these octopuses have flexible arms and an impressive intelligence. They traverse the shores with remarkable agility, jumping in and out of tidepools to hunt crabs and other prey! 

Similarly, mudskippers, a group of 23 species of amphibious fish, are another land-dwelling aquatic animal. Equipped with pectoral fins adapted for crawling and even leaping on mudflats, mudskippers show off the same fascinating blend of aquatic and amphibious behavior. Moving across land to reach separated bodies of water, mudskippers are like a species in the midst of evolution!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Nigel Marsh/iStock via Getty Images