North Pacific Giant Octopus

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iGiant octopuses

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Octopoda
Family:	Octopodidae
Genus:	Enteroctopus
Species:	E. dofleini

Binomial name

Enteroctopus dofleini
Wülker, 1910

The North Pacific Giant Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is a large cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus. It can be found in the coastal Pacific Northwest and is considered to be the second largest octopus species based on scientific records, after the Seven-arm Octopus.<ref>O'Shea, S. 2004. The giant octopus Haliphron atlanticus (Mollusca : Octopoda) in New Zealand waters. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 31(1): 7-13.</ref><ref>O'Shea, S. 2002. Haliphron atlanticus — a giant gelatinous octopus. Biodiversity Update 5: 1.</ref> However, there are a number of questionable size records that would suggest it is the largest of all octopus species.<ref>Norman, M. 2000. Cephalopods: A World Guide. Hackenheim, ConchBooks, p. 214.</ref>

1 Size and description
2 Intelligence
3 Diet
4 Predators
5 Life span/reproduction
6 Conservation
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Size and description

The North Pacific Giant Octopus, or the Giant Pacific Octopus, are distinguished from other species by its sheer size. Adults usually weigh around 33 lb (15 kg). However, there are questionable records of specimens up to 600 lb (270 kg) with a 23 ft (7 m) arm span.<ref>Octopus - Species.</ref> 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.

[edit] Intelligence

This animal is considered to be extremely intelligent for an invertebrate, capable of solving complex puzzles. Among other things, it has been reported to unscrew jarlids to retrieve food and mimick the behaviors of other octopuses (the latter claim is controversial).

[edit] 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. They have also been observed catching sharks [1].

[edit] 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.

[edit] Life span/reproduction

The North Pacific Giant Octopus is considered to be short-lived for an animal 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. It can lay up to 100,000 eggs which are intensively cared for by the females. Hatchlings are about the size of rice and only a handful makes it to adulthood.

[edit] 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.