No. 1163 of 1,402
Southern blue-ringed octopus
Hapalochlaena maculosa
Cone snails & octopuses🦷 Bites
Danger to people: DeadlyOne of the most dangerous animals in the world.Southern blue-ringed octopus belongs to the group: Cone snails & octopuses. It lives in: The oceans.2
Venom power
Bites
Venom comes out through its fangs or teeth when it bites.
How dangerous is it to people?
Danger to people: DeadlyOne of the most dangerous animals in the world.🚑 If it bites or stings
- Pressure immobilisation: wrap a firm elastic bandage over the bite and then up the whole limb, splint it, and keep the person completely still until help arrives.
- A blue-ringed octopus or cone snail can stop a person breathing while they are still awake: call for help and be ready to give rescue breaths until the ambulance takes over.
Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics
⛑️ Stay safe
- Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
- Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
- If one bites or stings you: stay calm, keep still, call your emergency number (112, 000, 911) or get to a hospital fast. Remember what it looked like, a photo helps.
It is not out to get you. It uses its venom to catch food or to protect itself, and it would much rather hide. More about staying safe
Where in the world?
How big is it?
How long is it?
🧱as long as 5 toy building bricks in a row🏊could swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 7.2 seconds
How big is Southern blue-ringed octopus compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid on a bike about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
Southern blue-ringed octopus about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A galloping horse about 65 km/h (40 mph)
Where the facts come from
- Hapalochlaena maculosa (iNaturalist): names and classification.
- Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are animal fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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Geography cone
Greater blue-ringed octopus
Blue sea dragon
Common octopus
Giant Pacific octopus
Blue-lined octopus
Australian box jellyfish
Japanese pufferfish
Hawksbill sea turtle
Irukandji jellyfish
Reef stonefish
Crown-of-thorns starfish