Octopus nursery – the spectrum of science

Back in 2013, researchers discovered a group of more than 100 solitary octopuses actually on a deep-sea mountain known as Dorado Outcrop. But they didn’t see any embryos in any of the eggs, and there weren’t any babies either. Warm water with low oxygen hinders the development of eggs, Scientists suspected it at the time, and octopuses were a subgroup doomed to disappear. The present observation refutes this assumption. And not only that: a few days later, another similar area with octopus breeding was discovered about 30 nautical miles away.

It is unclear what attracts animals to bare seamounts. It is possible that water, which was previously considered a problem, will play a decisive role. Higher temperatures compared to the surrounding depths of the sea can promote the development of offspring. The octopuses in Dorado Outcrop probably belong to a new species in the genus Octopus mousse. How long they sit there is unknown – but maybe several years. While in shallow water species eggs develop within a few months, in deep sea life processes are much longer. In 2014, a working group from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute found just that The deep sea octopus is of similar size Graneledone boreopacifica Sitting on its eggs for 53 months. During this time, the animals do not eat, but only guard their broods. This will also be the last: when the offspring hatch, the parents will die.