Common octopus

How it lives

The common octopus lives on rocky, sandy and muddy seabeds from the shore to the edge of the continental shelf. It hunts from a den and leaves the empty shells of its prey outside. Off France, molluscs made up about 80% of its diet. Adults usually die soon after breeding; the female guards her eggs, and the young drift in the plankton before they settle.

Where it goes

The common octopus does not migrate. In Port d'Andratx, Mallorca, most recaptured octopuses had moved less than 30 m, and the furthest only 169 m in 106 days. In the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, Spain, 24 tagged octopuses were most active at dawn and dusk, made short trips from their dens, and some changed dens.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

The name Octopus vulgaris once covered look-alike octopuses around the world. Genetic studies now treat the true common octopus as a species of the Mediterranean and north-east Atlantic. Octopuses in East Asia (Octopus sinensis), the western Atlantic (Octopus americanus), Australia and a southern lineage in South Africa are separate. In Port d'Andratx, numbers fell from about 337 in autumn to 105 by late winter.