Octopus vulgaris, Common Octopus [+]

Kingdom Animalia Phylum Mollusca Class Cephalopoda Order Octopoda Family Octopodidae Genus Octopus species: Octopus vulgaris [+ITIS +WoRMS]

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Description & Behavior

The common octopus, Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797), reaches between 30-91 cms in length. Like other octopus species, the soft-bodied common octopus has eight arms with numerous suckers, and there is no internal shell. It is thought that this species has a number of subspecies, but they have not yet been taxonomically classified.

World Range & Habitat

Octopus vulgaris is found worldwide in tropical and temperate waters. They are abundant in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Japan, and in the Eastern Atlantic in coastal waters between 1-200 m.

» GBIF occurrence data in Google Earth [Tips] | Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) (World Distribution) [about]

Feeding Behavior (Ecology)

The common octopus, like other octopus species, discard the remains of their bivalve and crustacean prey just outside their lairs into piles called middens. These piles have proven useful to scientists to study the feeding habits of the common octopus. The piles also make it easier spot an octopus lair and therefore perhaps an octopus.

Life History

The common octopus lays about 100,000-500,000 eggs about the size of a grain of rice during each breeding cycle that hatch and live in the plankton for 1.5-2 months. The juveniles that don't get eaten as part of the planktonic food web live up to 1.5 years.

Conservation Status/Additional Comments

Octopus vulgaris is one of the most common octopus species commercially fished for food and for the aquarium trade. Between 10,000 and 20,000 metric tons are caught by commercial fisheries yearly using unbaited octopus pots. The pots draw the unsuspecting octopuses as a seemingly safe haven.