Pacific bigeye octopus (Octopus Californicus)
Recently, a deep sea octopus brought back to a laboratory laid fertilized eggs that successfully hatched, providing a unique window into their reproduction and development process.
Researchers from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography recovered a North Pacific bigeye octopus from one of their line traps set 200 – 250 meters (655 – 820 feet) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Deep sea specimens are notoriously fragile, and it is rare that they survive in human aquaria – let alone lay eggs to go on to successfully hatch.
Four months after the eggs were laid, researchers noticed individual eye spots in egg cases, which was the first indication that these eggs had been fertilized. It is possible that the female octopus had stored the sperm of a male octopus for up to one month before laying the eggs.
Graduate student Adi Khen with rescued octopus (left) and hatchling.
“Even though this species was discovered over a century ago, we didn’t know how long incubation would take or anything about its early life history,” said Adi Khen, lead researcher of this study, “They’ve rarely been raised in captivity and there were no other known records of fertilized eggs.”
The female octopus exhibited the standard protective tendencies of guarding them carefully, cleaning them, and blowing water on them. After she unexpectedly perished, the scientists took over care of the brood, which resulted in some successful hatchlings after approximately 10 months of development. The young octopi that survived now reside in various aquaria across California, where they are being carefully cared for and studied.
