North Pacific Giant Octopus
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOR : North Pacific Giant Octopus
The North Pacific Giant Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is a large cephalopod that belongs to the genus Enteroctopus. It can be found in the coastal Pacific Northwest and is considered to be the largest octopus.
Contents
Size and description
The North Pacific Giant Octopus, or the Giant Pacific Octopus, are distinguished from other species by its sheer size. Adults frequently reach 50-90 pounds (23-40 kg) but the current record weighed 600 pounds (270 kg.) and has arms (not tentacles) that averaged 16 feet (5 meters) from tip to tip. The mantle, or "head", of the octopus is spherical in shape and contains most of the animal's major organs. The skin of the octopus is somewhat smooth and by contracting or expanding tiny pigments in its cells an octopus could change the color of its skin, giving it the ability to blend into the environment.Intelligence
This animal is considered to be extremely intelligent for an invertebrate, capable of solving complex puzzles, unscrewing jarlids to retrieve food rewards, and mimic behaviors of other octopuses in the tank.Diet
This species of octopus commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs, scallops, abalones, clams, and fish. It procures food with its suckers, which is then crushed with its tough "beaks" of chitin.Predators
Marine mammals such as the Harbor Seal, Sea Otter, and Sperm Whale depend upon the North Pacific Giant Octopus as a source of food. The octopus is also commercially fished in the United States.Life span/reproduction
The North Pacific Giant Octopus is considered to be short-lived for an animals its size, with life spans that average only 3-5 years in the wild. To make up for its relatively short life span, the octopus is extremely prolific and could lay up to 100,000 eggs that are intensively cared for by the females. Hatchlings are about the size of rice and only a handful makes it to adulthood.Conservation
Very little is known about the population of this solitary creature and the North Pacific Giant Octopus isn't currently under the protection of CITES or the ICUN Redlist. However, this is an animal sensitive to water pollution and may depend upon conservation efforts for future survival.References
- [Giant Pacific Octopus]
- [Giant Pacific Octopus: Fact Sheet]
- [Giant Pacific Octopus: National Zoo|FONZ]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.