Red octopus

Octopus rubescens

Red octopus

Octopus rubescens

Other Common Names
East Pacific red octopus, ruby octopus

Rocky Coast

Other Common Names

East Pacific red octopus, ruby octopus

At the Aquarium

Rocky Coast

Appearance

These small octopuses are normally red or a reddish brown but can change color to yellow, brown, white, or a variety of mottled colors. They can also change their texture to match their surroundings. Their arms are usually 3-5 times the length of their body, with a mantle that is usually 3.9 inches long on a full-grown adult.

Habitat

Intertidal to subtidal depths of 656 feet. Newly hatched octopuses live in the intertidal and shallow subtidal waters. Juveniles will live in kelp beds, such as on kelp holdfasts. Larger individuals migrate farther offshore to sandy or muddy bottoms, seeking the shelter of a den.

Diet

Carnivore: crustaceans, mollusks, and fish

Life History

Red octopuses only reproduce at the end of life. They mate in deep waters in late spring and then move inshore. A male dies shortly after mating. A female will protect her eggs and groom them for 6-8 weeks either in the intertidal or in the shallow subtidal in rocky areas. Once the paralarvae hatch, she will die. The hatchlings start life as plankton, feeding on krill, and sometimes can form large schools and even mix with juvenile black-eyed squid. They might spend 2 months in the plankton stage before settling to start life on the bottom. This species can grow to 20 inches and live up to 2 years.

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

This octopus provides food to its many predators: chinook salmon, blue sharks, longnose skates, harbor seals, California sea lions, northern elephant seals, and many bird species including common murres, rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, and Brandt’s and pelagic cormorants.

Alaska to Baja California, Mexico

You might encounter a red octopus while tidepooling. If so, be sure not to touch it–these animals can bite and spit venom on the wound.

Though this species has been characterized as nocturnal, a 2022 study of wild red octopus denning behavior revealed that these octopuses are more active during daylight hours. The only time of day that the octopuses were observed closing their den entrances with material was at night. In addition, this study showed that rather than avoiding other red octopuses, they showed a preference for interaction. There also seems to be an association between kelp greenlings and the red octopus. Cooperative hunting has been documented between other fish and octopus species so perhaps future studies will uncover unique relationships. The red octopus has excellent vision but will use mostly smell and touch to find food. The rims of the suckers contain both chemical and texture receptors.

Citations & Other Resources

Global Biotic Interactions
Humbert, Jefferson W., Kresimir Williams, and Kirt L. Onthank. inchesDen-associated behavior of Octopus rubescens revealed by a motion-activated camera trap system.inches Integrative and Comparative Biology 62.4 (2022): 1131-1143.
Invertebrates of the Salish Sea
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Onthank, Kirt L. Aerobic metabolism and dietary ecology of Octopus rubescens. Diss. Walla Walla University, 2008.

Red octopus

Red octopus

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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