Swimming With Octopuses: Octopus Locomotion

Jet propulsion is one of the most unusual ways for an animal to move around, but octopuses don’t care! Though they might not be as fast as swordfish, as intimidating as killer whales, or as graceful as penguins, octopuses are still amazing swimmers. Like other cephalopods (animals with large heads and tentacles like squids), they can reach their fastest speeds by using jet propulsion. Speeding through the ocean this way an octopus can reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.

Have you ever untied the knot of an inflated balloon and let go? That is kind of what jet propulsion is like. The stored air that has been built up shoots through the outside air and propels the balloon. The big difference is an octopus can steer, but the balloon can’t!

An octopus’s head, called a mantle, can suck in and store water like a balloon stores air. All of the openings to the mantle are closed off and the stored water quickly increases in pressure. When the octopus is ready to jet away, the muscles of the mantle squeeze the water out through a funnel on the underside of the animal. The stream of water shooting out of the animal’s underside has enough force to propel it through the ocean at amazing speeds! The octopus isn’t just out for a ride though. They can steer to where they want to go by adjusting the direction that the funnel is faced.

When an octopus is zooming through the water by jet propulsion or swimming regularly their head will always be in the lead. An octopus swims headfirst with their long tentacles trailing behind.