Blue Ringed Octopus

The Blue-Ringed Octopus can be best described as ‘one cute animal that might kill you’. The term  blue-ringed octopus  does not merely refer to a single species, but a genus of species that are marked by bright blue circular patterns. Despite their apparent gentle nature, these small molluscs are known to be one of the most venomous and dangerous sea creatures on the planet. An adult blue-ringed octopus is of the size of a golf ball, but if provoked, they can bite attackers, including humans. A single bite might lead to partial or complete paralysis, blindness, loss of senses, nausea, and resultant death within minutes, if left untreated. No blue-ringed octopus anti-venom has yet been discovered.

Description
The Blue Ringed Octopus is a small cephalopod, distinct for being one of the only poisonous members of the group. Its poison is in fact one of the most lethal fluids in the animal kingdom-- used mainly for defense and based on textradotoxin, Blue Ringed Octopus is capable of causing cardiac arrest in humans. However, its primary means of defense is avoidance; by flashing its eponymous neon blue rings, the Octopus makes its lethality obvious to potential predators, which have learned to avoid such colour schemes. Despite this potency, the Blue Ringed Octopus is very small, and spends most of its time hiding in nooks and crannies between rocks.