Jump to content

Octopus mercatoris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by HRoestBot (talk | contribs) at 05:27, 14 February 2013 (r2.6.5) (Robot: Adding war:Octopus mercatoris). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Octopus mercatoris
Caribbean dwarf octopus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Subgenus:
Species:
O. mercatoris
Binomial name
Octopus mercatoris
Adam, 1937

Octopus mercatoris, the Caribbean dwarf octopus, is a small octopus species native to the Atlantic Ocean. It is mainly nocturnal, hunting by night and staying in a cave during the day. While most octopuses are cannibalistic, O. mercatoris is less cannibalistic than other species, and is sometimes found in small groups under rocks. Though they are common, they are rarely seen. They eat crabs, shrimps, and small fish. This species has an average lifespan of 8–10 months. Because their eggs are large, they are sometimes kept and bred as pets.

  • "CephBase: Octopus mercatoris". Archived from the original on 2005-08-17.