An Australian teenager had a lucky escape after being bitten by one of the world's most toxic animals, a blue-ringed octopus, after accidentally picking up the deadly cephalopod hiding in a shell. But this was not the only close call — he almost passed the tiny creature to a toddler, which could have been disastrous.
Blue-ringed octopuses are a group comprising four species: the greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), the southern blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa), the blue-lined octopus (Hapalochlaena fasciata) and the common blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena nierstraszi). These octopuses, which are all small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, contain tetrodotoxin — a powerful neurotoxin with no known antidote that can paralyze and kill humans within minutes, even in small doses.
