Species encyclopedia

Common Octopus

Octopus vulgaris

Distribution area

Group

Size

Conservation status

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The common octopus lives in the coastal waters of warm and temperate seas.

Cephalopods
Molluscs

1 meter 20

Least concern

Biology

The octopus is a solitary animal that can only bear the proximity of another in order to breed, which occurs starting at the age of 1 to 1.5 years.

After mating, which can take several hours, the female deposits several hundreds of thousands of eggs in strings from the ceiling of a rocky spur. Incubation lasts four to eight weeks, during which the female broods and cleans her eggs without leaving her burrow. As a result, she lives off her reserves until she dies of malnutrition and exhaustion.

Food

From birth, young octopi hunts plankton (crab or shrimp larvae). They then move on to bottom-dwelling crustaceans. Using their arms, the octopi search the rocky spurs. They detect their prey thanks to the tactile and chemical receptors on their arms.

Adult octopi also feed on flatfish, sea snails and bivalves (oysters, mussels, etc.). They leave their lairs at nightfall to go on the hunt.

They move along the ocean floor by « walking » on their arms. They can also swim, propelled by a stream of water, for example when they want to flee.

Numerous scientific studies have been conducted on the behaviour of octopi. They have a visual, tactile memory but, even more surprisingly, they have the capacity to learn, simply by watching one another.

Common Octopus

Biology

Food

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