Enteroctopus dofleini, also known as the Giant Pacific Octopus or North Pacific Giant Octopus, is a large cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus.
The Giant Pacific Octopus is considered to be short-lived for an animal of its size, with life spans that average only 3-5 years in the wild. To make up for its relatively short life span, the octopus is extremely prolific. It can lay up to 100,000 eggs which are intensively cared for by the females, who die protecting the eggs. Hatchlings are about the size of a grain of rice, and very few survive to adulthood.
During reproduction, the male octopus deposits a spermatophore (or sperm packet) more than 1 meter long. Large spermatophores are characteristic of octopuses in this genus.
Bittersweet.
MOM! He got more oxygen than I did!
Glen Davidson
Happy Mothers Day to the moms!!!
Interesting facts about Enteroctopus dofleini:
Shall I be the first, and hopefully last, to make the Octomom joke?
That’s so sweet, in fishy sort of way. I kinda wish my mom had laid a thousand eggs. It wouldn’t be such a big deal when I forget to call.
Rick – if your mum was as dedicated a mum as an octopus she wouldn’t be expecting a call.
This is a bit late. Mothers Day was the 18th of March.
Octopus mothers never make a big deal when their kids don’t call on mother’s day, because, well, they’re dead.
I’m a lifelong ceph fan, but they are not the organism I would use as a mother’s day greeting.
But then again, I absolutely LOATHE “The Giving Tree”.