8 on the 8th

For everyone with an 8/8 birthday!

Close-up of an octopus eye:

 

And below is a short video clip that Eric took of the same octopus.  Watch for the following: a close-up of the octopus; then the octopus cleans its siphon with a tentacle (the siphon is a muscular tube that draws water into the mantle cavity for breathing); after that the octopus notices a crab nearby and then it jets across the tank and quickly envelops the crab with its eight tentacles and the webbing between the tentacles.  Throughout the video, watch for the flashing chromatophores (pigment cells) and striking color changes of this octopus!

Bodega Bay Octopus from Jackie Sones on Vimeo.

Note: We're not totally sure about the identity of this octopus.  We think it might be a juvenile Pacific Giant Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini).