A tiny baby octopus that came to the Minnesota Zoo nearly two months ago has nearly tripled in size–and is ready to make its public debut. Now the size of a 50-cent piece, this is the first octopus the Zoo has had in nearly 20 years.

The two-spot octopus, whose sex is not yet known, came to the Minnesota Zoo from Texas around the size of a penny. Since then, it has grown enough to be somewhat visible to the public (and photographers). The octopus is currently being housed in "a tank within a tank" in Discovery Bay because of its small size. Once it's large enough, it will live in its bigger enclosure.

Also known as the California Mud Flat Octopus, the two-spot octopus is natively found in the temperate waters off the coast of California. It is extremely intelligent, having the largest brain of any invertebrate. It has both long and short-term memory and the capability to learn. Because its intellect is compared to that of a 3-year-old child, the two-spot octopus needs to be continually "enriched" with toys and other interesting stimulus.

The two-spot octopus gets is name from the two blue "ocelli" or "eye spots" below its eyes. Once it's fully grown, the octopus will reach approximately 1.5 feet in length from arm tip to arm tip. It belongs to the "Cephalopoda" class, which literally means "head foot." This family also includes cuttlefish, squid and nautilus. Its body is comprised of three parts: mantle or body, head and foot. The mantle holds all of the organs, the head contains the brain and sensory organs and the arms contain rows of suckers that are used for grasping and tasting.