Thursday, June 25, 2020

Gr-eight-ful

After some field work this morning, Eric joined me at a different site, and no joke, within a minute he said, "Octopus!"  We hadn't seen an octopus since 2018, so we were excited to see one.  Below are several of my favorite shots from today (25 June 2020).  [You can click on the pictures for larger versions.]

Stretching out:

 


"Eye" see you (check out the beautiful chromatophores!):

 


Blending in (with coralline algae):

 


Tentacle spiral:

 


Suckers up-close (and once again, check out the amazing chromatophores just below the pink suckers — they look like freckles in this photo): 

 

We are feeling very grateful for a few moments with a Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens) this morning.

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4 comments:

  1. Alice ChanJune 26, 2020 at 10:58 AM

    Oh, wow! It made me so happy to see this post!!

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  2. AnonymousJune 26, 2020 at 9:20 PM

    Wonderful pictures of a great animal! How big was the bell on the 1st Red? 4-5 inches?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jackie SonesJune 27, 2020 at 7:35 AM

    Hello!

    Thanks for comments!

    On this octopus, we're estimating the head and mantle (balloon-like portion behind the eyes) was ~7 cm (~3 inches) long.

    Jackie

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJune 28, 2020 at 8:55 PM

    what a treat for you and Eric! and for us, to see your pics. I admire octopus tremendously.

    ReplyDelete