Tag Archives: Octopus rubescens

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Ethan Artunian wrote, “My kids and I were lucky enough to see this rare sighting on [a week ago} Monday at Bowling Ball beach. Here are a couple of photos and a video. Good enough to make it in Jeanne's column?” You bet, and her blog! The Artunians were gifted with a sighting of a Ruby Octopus, Octopus rubescens.

These small octopuses reside along the entire west coast and can be found as deep as 980 feet. They are solitary predators and are considered the most intelligent of all invertebrates. They use their sharp sense of touch and smell to locate prey such as crabs, clams, and scallops.

Here is a video of the fascinating octopus taken by Ethan.

Ruby octopus, Octopus rubescens, video by Ethan Arutunian

Thanks to Ethan for allowing me to share his photos and video with you here.

Rain came in overnight - 1.08 inches, 13.82 season to date. Our first rain since Nov. 19th! Much more to come...

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John and Nicole Forte went tide pooling off Navigtor's Beach on The Sea Ranch. They spotted this small octopus, who's common name is Ruby Octopus or Pacific Red Octopus.

The Ruby Octopus is thought to be very intelligent, like most octopuses. They have distinctive personalities. Like all octopuses, they can change color and texture. What an amazing little octopus John and Nicole found.

Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

We are having minus tides in the afternoon now, a perfect time to find a tide pool to explore!

Today we are having the calm after the storm. It's cool but absolutely beautiful. Tree Mercer tells me she and Scott are seeing lots of Gray Whales swimming northward today.

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Craig Tooley noticed this Eastern Pacific Red Octopus, Octopus rubescens, in a mussel bed.

I showed Craig's photo to Robert Van Syoc and he wrote:

"It’s pretty common in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones from Baja up to the Gulf of Alaska. It commonly feeds on small crabs, snails, clams and mussels. Since Craig captured this photo of it in a mussel bed, it may have been dining on some of the smaller mussels in the bed.”

There are so many fascinating creatures that live in the intertidal zone, which we can observe at low tide.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com