The Purple Octopus: Know Its Habitat And Customs
We will never get tired of repeating… The animals are amazing! But there are some that draw even more attention, such as the purple octopus. Learn more about him below.
The purple octopus, a ‘new’ species
This is a species that was discovered very recently, although that doesn’t mean it’s new on the planet. The first time the purple octopus was seen was on the shores of Newfoundland, Canada, along with other “new” animals that were investigated separately.
This area explored with an underwater robot was considered ‘an underwater forest’ with several meters of corals, which are changing the course of currents. Among them, the black coral, a consolidated species that can live for over a thousand years.
Characteristics
The purple octopus is a marine mollusk that, like others in the family, has eight arms. In addition, this octopus has not one but three hearts, which pump blood to the gills and the rest of the body.
Their diet is carnivorous and based on fish, small crustaceans and sometimes some algae. In most cases, it remains at the bottom of the sea, although on occasion it can swim a few meters towards the surface to hunt using its powerful tentacles.
When it attacks its prey, the way it acts is as follows: it slides over it and inserts its mouth into the victim’s hoof or body. With its “beak”, it sucks the meat very quickly.
The purple octopus can live in cold, temperate or tropical salt waters. This is one of the reasons why it is claimed that although humans have only recently seen it, it is actually an ancient animal that was able to adapt to different habitats and situations.
Rossia pacifica , the ‘other’ purple octopus
In addition to the findings 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 (squid) known as “stocky squid”, which is about 10 centimeters long and attracts attention for its purple hue and huge eyes.
To go unnoticed by its prey – mainly large fish and shrimp – Rossia pacifica is buried in the sand for hours and only leaves its eyes exposed. It can also camouflage itself with algae and other marine plants.
The strangest thing is that this octopus has a different color from other specimens of the same species. Therefore, it caught the attention of researchers, who call it ‘stocky’ due to its robustness.
Although it is native to the northern Pacific Ocean (Japan, Korea, Canada or the United States), it moves by taking advantage of ocean currents and, in winter, is seen in shallow currents. During the summer, it looks for deeper waters where it can breed.
Females – which are larger than males – lay about 50 white eggs under a rock or shelter, as neither she nor her ‘partner’ can take care of the young: they die soon after mating.
The puppies that survive are born about nine months later and are “miniature versions” of their parents.
Even though it’s a peaceful animal, if it’s bothered or threatened, it can throw its black ink to allow it to get away through jet propulsion.
Without a doubt, the purple octopus is very curious and, at first glance, it looks like a stuffed toy that ended up hidden at the bottom of the sea after a shipwreck. However, this is a very impressive real animal!
