Octopus briareus, the Caribbean reef octopus
<< Cephalopod Species
Octopus briareus, the Caribbean reef octopus, is common in the Florida Keys. Like most octopuses, this species is nocturnal. They are easy to find (for an octopus) by snorkeling in shallow water at night with a powerful dive light as they reflect a distinctive blue-green color.
Fertile females collected from the Keys lay approximately 500 large eggs around January. The hatchlings are minature versions of the adults and can jet, ink, crawl, etc. They can be reared on small crustaceans.
Hanlon and Forsythe (1985) has found that O. briareus is cannibalistic in group culture.
References and Credits
Credits
The photograph at right was taken by James B. Wood.
References
Hanlon, R. T. and J. W. Forsythe. 1985. Advances in the Laboratory Culture of Octopuses for biomedical Research. Laboratory Animal Science. 35(1); 33-40.
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