Common Octopus
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| Common Octopus | ||||||||||||||||
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| Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797 |
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The Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is the most studied of all octopus species. Its natural range extends from the Mediterranean Sea and the southern coast of England to at least Senegal in Africa. It also occurs off the Azores, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde Islands.[1]
O. vulgaris grows to 25 cm in mantle length with arms up to 1 m long.[1]
O. vulgaris is caught by bottom trawls on a huge scale off the northwestern coast of Africa. More than 20,000 tonnes are harvested annually.[1]
Training experiments have shown that the Common Octopus can distinguish the brightness, size, shape, and horizontal or vertical orientation of objects.
They are intelligent enough to learn how to unscrew a jar and are known to raid lobster traps.[1] [2]
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