What species?

[S Korte]

This is my new octopus, I've had him 3 weeks now. His name is Spook and he is a greedy pig. His head and body are about 1 and a half inches long, and his legs are about 7 and a half inches long. He seems to have much longer legs than most of the pictures I see on this site. One video suggests to me that he is a vulgaris (not just his table manners).

Any ideas what he is?

 

[corw314]

I'd guess vulgaris. Any idea what area he came from? Very nice!!!

Carol

 

[Nancy]

Hi and welcome to TONMO.com!

And a big welcome to Spook! Spook is a fine looking octo.

There are several species of long armed octos that are available in local fish stores. Do you ever see a blue green coloration on your octo?

Nancy

 

[S Korte]

Yes I do, most times when feeding he is brown to dark brown/red. But when he is not excited he is often a grey/blue colour, and when the light hits him right he seems to have lots of flourescenty green, dots, lines in him.

Stephen

 

[Nancy]

My best guess is that you have O. briareus . In addition to its long arms, this species is recognized by its bulging eyes, almost transparent webs beween its arms, and a blue-green iridescent sheen on the skin.

This is an octopus that lives in coral reefs in shallow waters and is found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

It's nocturnal, although I have seen some that have become day active in captivity. Also, it will grow larger, with a body of about 5 inches and arms about 24 inches.

Nancy

 

[Colin]

yep briareus

 

[joel_ang]

I was thinking either vulgaris or briareus, guess i'm going with the rest : Briareus.