There is debate about how many human fatalities this octopus has caused, but the consensus in one handbook on venomous marine animals published in 1996 was that at least eleven had succumbed at ...

The blue-ringed octopus harbour a neurotoxic venom called tetrodotoxin (TTX), one of the most potent toxins in the ocean. Less than one milligram of this toxin is sufficient to kill a human.

Reports emerged recently stating that a man used this fact to disguise a murder as “accidental death by octopus-induced suffocation.” The victim was the man’s girlfriend – but her death ...