Common Atlantic Octopus
Octopus vulgaris
Its large eyes scan the surroundings. The pupil narrows to a horizontal slit in bright light and opens into a round shape in dim light. In a Bay of Naples study, interest in new objects was linked with success at opening a food puzzle box.[2][3]
Size and lifespan
- Mantle length
- Reported size 25 cm[4]
Appearance
In bright light the pupil constricts to a horizontal slit; in dim light it dilates into a round opening.[2]
Life
Its large eyes actively scan the surroundings and help it distinguish objects.[2]
In an experiment with wild octopuses from the Bay of Naples, individuals more inclined to approach novel objects approached a food puzzle box sooner and were more likely to open it, but did not solve it sooner.[3]
Places
Observed places · Bay of Naples, Italy[3]
Wild individuals used in the study were caught in 2002 and 2004.
2002 and 2004
Sources
- Catalogue of Life 2026-09-25 XR
Catalogue of Life · 2026-10-13
- Hanke & Kelber 2020, The Eye of the Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris)
Frontiers in Physiology 10, 1637 · 2026-10-25
- Sbragaglia et al. 2023, Octopus vulgaris Exhibits Interindividual Differences in Behavioural and Problem-Solving Performance
Biology 12(12), 1487 · 2026-10-25
- MOBS 2.0 (Magnapinna): explicitly identified invertebrate dimensions (McClain et al., 2026)
McClain et al. / Zenodo and MOBS_OPEN · 2026-10-27