Octopus bimaculatus

California two-spot octopus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Cephalopoda
Order:Octopoda
Family:Octopodidae
Genus:Octopus
Species: O. bimaculatus
Binomial name
Octopus bimaculatus
Verrill, 1883

Octopus bimaculatus, or Verrill's two-spot octopus, is an octopus common in the subtidal and intertidal zone of Southern California. It is often confused with the another species that shares a similar range, Octopus bimaculoides.

Diet

O. bimaculatus is known to prey on crustaceans, snails, chitons, limpets, and bivalves.[1]

Lifespan

Octopus bimaculatus model

O. bimaculatus lives about 12–18 months. Young are planktonic for one to several months before settling on the ground.[2]

Reproduction

Most matings occur in May and June when water temperatures are rising, but they may mate throughout the year. Most females then lay their eggs between April and August.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Ambrose, R. F. (1984). "Food preferences, prey availability, and diet of Octopus bimaculatus Verrill". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 77 (1–2): 29–44. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(84)90049-2.
  2. ↑ Ambrose, R. F. (1986). "Effects of octopus predation on motile invertebrates in a rocky subtidal community". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 30: 261–273. doi:10.3354/meps030261.
  3. ↑ Ambrose, R. F. (1988). "Population dynamics of Octopus bimaculatus: Influence of life history patterns, synchronous reproduction and recruitment". Malacologia. 29: 23–39.


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