Blue Ringed Octopus

One of the tiniest, cutest cephalopods on earth is also the last octopus you ever want to encounter. When frightened or threatened, the blue ringed octopus – which measures just a few centimeters in size – brightens its blue rings and proffers a painless warning bite. You skip away, thinking you’re fine…until you’re seized with paralysis and death in short order. The blue ringed octopus, which graciously inhabits tide pools and shallow tropical waters, actually possesses a neurotoxic venom that is more violent than any land creature on earth. Good times!