Range: Coastal marine waters; Varies by species

Habitat: Ocean floor, sandy bottoms, and reefs

Size: 3-6 inches (7-15cm) long

Diet: Shellfish, crustaceans, fish, and more

Threats: Humans and large marine predators

Life span: About one year

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the long arm octopus. As we’ve discussed in many previous episodes of AFF, common animal names aren’t scientific. In this case, the name “long arm octopus” could be in reference to multiple different species, so we’ll outline some of them here. To start, we have the common long arm octopus, also known as the whip arm octopus. These invertebrates live in coastal mudflats around China, Korea, Japan and other surrounding countries.

The common long arm octopus is a benthic species meaning it spends its time on the bottom of the sea floor. They live up to 650 feet (200m) below the ocean’s surface. Their longest arm may reach up to six times the length of their mantle which averages about half a foot (15cm) long. Males are smaller than females.

Like other octopods, the common long armed octopus only lives about a year. The male mates with a female using a specialized arm, called the hectocotylus, to transfer sperm directly into the female’s mantle. This arm is broken off and the male dies shortly after mating. The female produces a brood of up to 125 eggs in a protected burrow or rock crevice and remains with the eggs until they hatch about three months later. The female doesn’t eat while raising her young and will die after they hatch.

The babies settle to the bottom of the ocean and go about collecting food such as copepods and marine worms until they get a little bigger and then start eating shellfish, fish, and crustaceans. The whole process from egg to death only lasts a year. This octopus is largely farmed and consumed by humans!

Another of the long arm octopus species is the Atlantic long arm octopus, though this common name may be a bit misleading. These cephalopods live in the Atlantic ocean as their name would suggest, but they’re also found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

An adult Atlantic long arm octopus averages about half the mantle length of a common long arm octopus. Like its similarly named cousin, the Atlantic long arm octopus lives on the ocean floor preferring sandy bottom areas. And both these species are able to change their color and shape to help them blend in with their surroundings. The Atlantic long arm may flatten its body and bury itself to make it undetectable.

Like the mimic octopus we’ve discussed previously, these cephalopods may arrange their bodies to look like a flatfish while searching for prey. They do most of their hunting by night and consume fish and crustaceans. During the day they may hide in empty shells or rock crevices. The Atlantic long arm octopus may produce upwards of 10,000 eggs in a brood and carry them on their arms.

The third long arm octopus is the Indo-Pacific long arm octopus and can actually account for an entire genus! This group is sometimes referred to as “long armed” but not always. Like the other long arms, they live in sandy bottom bays and lagoons. As their name suggests, they live in Indo-Pacific marine waters. One, more commonly known as the algae octopus, lives in tidepools and essentially walks on land! Another wriggles its long arms to distract predators.

For more facts on the long arm octopus, check out the links below. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today. Thank you to our Patrons SpikeSpiegel93, Dad, and everyone else for their support of this channel! Thank you to these viewers for today’s request! And thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!