California Two-Spot Octopus

Nathan Rupert on Flickr

Octopus bimaculoides

My Wishlist Wednesday species is the California Two-Spot Octopus. I would LOVE to see one in the wild. I became familiar with this species at a past job where we had one in our aquarium. She was super feisty! I remember one occasion where a keeper was trying to get her to stop tormenting a sea star and used a scrub brush to pry them apart. Well, this became a game. The Octopus grabbed hold of the brush and was starting to pull the keeper into the tank, the chromatophores in her spots flashing different colors. The Octopus won the fight, and the keeper had to leave the scrub brush in the tank until the Octopus forgot about it and let go.
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It’s pretty obvious where the California Two-Spot Octopus gets its name. Because the Octopus isn’t super big (only 18 inches), the spots are there to make predators think they are the eyes of a much larger animal. The Octopus has a number of predators, including Eels, Seals and Sea Lions.

So, if the California Two-Spot Octopus lives in the ocean, how can I ever hope to see one? Luckily for me, they live close to shore in the intertidal and subtidal zones, so there is a chance I may see one the next time I am snorkeling off the coast of California or Baja Mexico. I want to find out if they are as feisty in the wild as they are in captivity!

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