Octopus vulgaris
Size – up to 10in 25cm with arms up to 3.3feet (1m)
Weight – up to 20lbs (9kg)
Common Octopus have smooth skin and 8 arms that are lined with suckers. Their color changes with their environment.
They can be found from the eastern Atlantic ocean from the Mediterranean sea to the southern coast of England and to the southern coast of Africa. It is also found in the western Atlantic in tropical, subtropical and temperate oceans.
They live in shallow, rocky, coastal waters no deeper than 200m (660ft).
It will eat anything it can catch but mainly feeds on crabs, crayfish and bivalve molluscs.
They can change their skin color to blend into their surroundings and will use this camouflage technique to catch prey.
They have been known to create “gardens” where they will collect different marine plant life, algae, shells and rocks.
Common Octopus average just 1-2 years for a lifespan.
They are the most studied out of all the species and one of the most intelligent.
They have three hearts, one to circulate their blood around their body and two next to their gills that send blood directly from the gills to the main heart.
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Octopus_vulgaris/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_octopus#Thermoregulation
