Octopus californicus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Order: | Octopoda |
Family: | Octopodidae |
Genus: | Octopus |
Species: | O. californicus
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Binomial name | |
Octopus californicus S. S. Berry, 1911
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Synonyms | |
Polypus californicus[1] |
Octopus californicus (commonly the North Pacific bigeye octopus or orange bigeye octopus)[2][3] is an octopus in the family Octopodidae.[4] It is provisionally assigned to the genus Octopus, but some scholars have concluded it belongs in other genera.[5][6] O. californicus was first documented by S. Stillman Berry in 1911.[7]
Octopus californicus is medium-sized[8] and has a body up to 14 cm in diameter, with arms up to 30.5 cm in length;[9] it has a mantle length of around 140 millimeters[8] and maximum total length of 40 centimeters.[10] It is soft-skinned,[11] with large eyes, a rough body, and star shaped patches on the skin.[5] Its diet is composed of fish, shrimp, and crabs.[9]
The eggs of O. californicus incubate for a maximum of ten months. They hatch looking like miniature adults, with no juvenile stage.[1] Females spawn around 100 to 500 eggs at once.[10]
Octopus californicus live in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, between Baja California and the Gulf of Alaska. The species has also been reported near Russia[8] and in the Sea of Japan.[11] They live between 100 and 900 meters, making them a deep sea species.[9]