This page was intended for incredible animals originating on earth but it's worth mentioning that many scientists question octopuses true origins. One research team recently sequenced the entire octopus genome and found that their genetic makeup is extremely unique and unlike any other known sea creatures on earth. Octopuses have 33,000 genes, roughly 10,000 more than a human. This alone sets it apart from any other invertebrate in the world. Scientists also found that octopuses have a similar set of genes to those found in humans, that make up a neural network in their brains, which accounts for their quick ability to adapt and learn. We also share a large brain, closed circulatory system, and eyes with an iris, retina, and lens. All of these independently developed in another species vastly different from our own mammal origins (4). Another unique trait that octopuses were capable of was the ability to improve on its own genetic code. This is common in humans and other animals, but the ability at which the octopus can edit its own RNA is particularly impressive. They are able to adapt their nerves in order to withstand the extreme cold of the deep ocean. A group of 33 researchers recently went so far as to propose that octopuses might actually have arrived on earth on a meteorite. While I confess this theory seems somewhat absurd it is worth at least considering. The concept of panspermia is a very viable scientific possibility and it is conceivable that cryopreserved eggs may have traveled to Earth millions of years ago and hatched into life. I think it is worth mentioning that according to the Hawaiian creation myth, our universe comes from the wreckage of another, earlier universe and the only creatures that survived from that alien universe are Octopuses. Who knows but it's all a little weird right?
