Caribbean Reef Octopus

Caribbean Reef Octopus - IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data

I’ve encountered Caribbean reef octopus on night dives

You are looking into the eye of a Caribbean reef octopus. Although they look mysterious, they are one of the more commonly seen octopus and we know quite a lot about them. Caribbean reef octopus are generally seen at night. I took this photograph during the day; however, the octopus is in the protection of its den. It was not out moving around. I was only able to identify what species of octopus it was by the eye. The Caribbean reef octopus are known for the dark ring around their eye. The rest of its body varies drastically in color, as the octopus is capable of changing its body color and texture. The primary colors it displays are an electric blue-green, brown, red, and white (seen in image). It is amazing to watch the octopus change colors at the blink of an eye.

Crab Eating Octopus

I’ve encountered Caribbean reef octopus on night dives, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one during the day like this. This photograph was taken in shallow water at Blue Heron Bridge, near West Palm Beach, Florida. This is one of my favorite dive sites, and one we have may photographs and stories from.

Caribbean reef octopus will only live for roughly one year. Interestingly, there seems to be a correlation between sizes of octopus and lifespan. Larger species of octopus live longer than small species of octopus. One of the longest living octopus is the Great Pacific octopus. Even it will only live for roughly three to five years.

Caribbean Sea Spider

The Caribbean reef octopus’ short life cycle looks like this. Both male and female octopus will only breed once in their life. The male will die shortly after breeding. The female will remain alive through the hatching of her eggs. Females can lay up to 500 eggs. It takes roughly 50 to 80 days for their eggs to hatch. During this time, the female stays with her eggs to protect them from predation. Once the eggs hatch, it is ~150 days until they reach sexually maturity.

Larger species of octopus live longer than small species of octopus

Did you know?

To escape predators, the Caribbean reef octopus will suck up water and use it to propel itself forward. The octopus can also release ink into the water as it makes its escape. This acts like a smoke screen.
A Caribbean reef octopus weighs around three pounds.
Caribbean reef octopus will prey upon a variety of creatures including fish, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.