The giant Pacific octopus is the largest octopus, with arms up to 16 feet long and weighing as much as 100 pounds. Ranging from Japan to Alaska to Baja California, this octopus lives in shallow coastal waters to depths of 5,000 feet. Each of the octopus’ eight arms is covered with as many as 200 suckers that are sensitive to touch and taste. And it’s a smarty pants, too: octopuses are big-brained invertebrates.
Watch an octopus catching a crab here: http://shapeoflife.org/video/behavior/molluscs-octopus-catching-crab
Research on giant Pacific octopus in Alaska: http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/species/octopus_vid.htm
Stay tuned for June Animal of the Month: Staghorn Coral
What’s Next?
The fun just never stops here at Shape of Life. Our next adventure takes us to Annapolis on July 21 – 25 where we will meet up at the National Marine Educators Association annual conference. Our founder, Nancy Burnett, will be presenting and sharing rich stories of her experiences in the ocean. If you are in the area, please join us!
Whatever your plans are this summer, we hope we will be included. Learning new things about our environment while we’re having fun outside is our favorite thing.
