Let’s Discover The Habitat And Habits Of The Purple Octopus
We will never tire of repeating it: the animals are fantastic! But there are some that catch our attention even more, like the case of the purple octopus . In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about this fascinating marine invertebrate.
The purple octopus, a “new” species
It is a recently discovered species, although that does not mean it is new to the planet. For the first time, the purple octopus was spotted off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, along with other unknown fish that have been examined separately.
The area was explored with an underwater robot and was immediately considered “an underwater forest”, with several kilometers of coral reef that is changing the course of the currents. Among these, the black coral, an established species that can live more than a thousand years.
Physical characteristics and diet
The purple octopus is a marine mollusk that, like others in its family, has eight arms. Additionally, this octopus features not one, but three hearts, which pump blood to the gills and the rest of the body.
Its diet is carnivorous and is based on fish, small crustaceans and, sometimes, some algae. In most cases it remains on the sea floor, although on occasion it can swim to the surface to hunt using its powerful tentacles.
When it attacks its prey, it slides over her and inserts its mouth into the victim’s shell or body. Then, with its “beak” it sucks the meat very quickly.
The purple octopus can live in both cold, temperate and tropical waters. This is one of the reasons why it is claimed that although humans have only recently discovered it, it is actually a very ancient animal that has been able to adapt to different habitats and situations.
The peaceful Rossia, the “other” purple octopus
In addition to the discoveries in Canada, we can talk about another species of purple octopus that was found 900 meters deep off the coast of California. It is a cephalopod that is a mollusk known as a squat squid, which is about 10 centimeters long and attracts attention with its purple hue and huge eyes.
To go unnoticed near its prey, consisting of rather large fish and shrimp, the peaceful Rossia buries itself in the sand for hours and leaves only its eyes uncovered. It also camouflages itself among algae and other marine plants.
The strangest thing is that this octopus has a different coloration than other specimens of the same species. That’s why he caught the attention of investigators, who call him squat because he has a compact and sturdy body.
Although native to the North Pacific Ocean (Japan, Korea, Canada or the United States), this type of purple octopus often travels by exploiting the sea currents. In winter it has also been seen in shallow water. During the summer, however, it looks for deeper waters to reproduce.
The females, which are larger than the males, lay about 50 white eggs under a stone, a shell or the shell of some animal, as neither she nor her ‘partner’ can take care of the young: they die soon after mating. The young survivors are born about nine months after laying and are in all respects miniature versions of their parents.
Even though it is a peaceful animal, when disturbed or threatened, it throws its black ink to defend itself. This gives him time to get away with a jet propulsion.
Without a doubt, the purple octopus is a very curious animal and at first glance it looks like a stuffed animal that was hidden at the bottom of the sea after a shipwreck. That’s why its physiognomy is truly amazing!
