Cephalopod · octopus

Vent octopus

Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

About 2,600 to 2,650 m, on the East Pacific Rise

Size

Mantle up to 3.5 cm, about 18 cm including arms

Diet

Small crustaceans, mainly amphipods

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• Its skin has no color cells. It cannot change color like other octopuses.
• It mainly eats swimming amphipods from open water, drawn in swarms near the vents.
• When disturbed, it hides in tubeworm bushes or in cracks in the rock.
• It has been seen trying to attack a vent crab, then giving up because the crab was too big.

Verified sources

1. Rocha et al. 2002, Cahiers de Biologie Marine (Ifremer), observations de Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis
2. Voight 2005, JMBA (marineinfo), Vulcanoctopus feeds on bathypelagic amphipods
3. Wikipédia (point de départ), Vulcanoctopus

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Bone-eating snailRubyspira osteovora Methane ice wormSirsoe methanicola (formerly Hesiocaeca methanicola) Bamboo coralKeratoisis sp. (family Isididae, broadly defined) Bubblegum coralParagorgia arborea Carnivorous umbrella spongeCladorhiza kensmithi Scarlet king crabLithodes couesi