Watch this red pacific octopus disappearing into sand !
As Jon Anderson (the diver who shot the video) explains:
I started the video rolling, and observed this fascinating behavior that I hadn’t seen before. When illuminated by my light, the octopuses would find and disappear into a nearby innkeeper wormhole. I observed several octopuses exhibiting this behavior that night. Perhaps the octopuses are learning that Whiskers (the infamous Harbor Seal) uses divers lights to hunt for dinner and devising new escape strategies. I am happy to report that no octopuses were eaten by Whiskers in the making of this film.
A local fisherman has pulled up three Curled Octopuses off Jersey’s West Coast, an occurrence that is “very unusual and rare”. The above video has been posted on Facebook and raised quite a success [source].
The curled octopus is named after the way it curls up its arms. As other octopus, it is quite intelligent and able to recognize us (it will closely observe divers from a distance).
The curly octopus is red/orange, but it can change color and expand when it is frightened. You may have seen many pictures of it without knowing. As an example, this is how it usually looks:
Octopuses can mate without leaving the
house. Because the male’s sex organ is at
the end of his arm, he can set up his den
next to a female’s, stretch his sex arm all
the way to her house, and get the job
done from afar whenever he feels like it.
Scientists call it the ‘distance position,’
and it also allows smaller males to mate
with a larger male’s girlfriend because
they can move in close to give her the
reach-around when he isn’t looking. SourceSource 2
With
a ghostly white body, red arms and fin tips, this Grimpoteuthis octopus
appears to be dancing in the light from the ROV, like a ballroom dancer
with a flowing red dress.
At 3,600 meters depth, this deep-sea octopus
uses the movement of its large fins and arms to propel itself through
the water. They are affectionately called the “dumbo” octopus because of
those flapping fins.
