Octopus in the Gulf of Maine are not like the ones seen in 60s horror films

Are there octopus in the Gulf of Maine? Do they come close to shore? I think that many of us have a fear of being pulled under by a large tentacle thanks to those 1960s horror films.

Rest easy, that will not happen here. The native octopus, Bathypolypus articus, is a tiny miniature one only about 2½ to 5 inches in length. These tiny deep-water octopus are very shy and can be found hiding in crevices along the Atlantic Seaboard to Northern Canada as far away from humans as possible.

Octopus are found in every ocean in the world. They are a mollusk and have evolved from bivalves (two shelled animals like clams and mussels). They are by far the most intelligent of the invertebrates with a large brain compared to their size. They change their skin color and texture depending on their mood, and scientists who study them can predict their behavior by observing these features. They are also very cunning.

Experiments with their favorite food, crustaceans, are illuminating. When a crab is placed in a glass jar with a screw lid and put into a tank with an octopus, the octopus will eventually figure out how to unscrew the lid and eat the crab. This leads me to believe that some octopus are probably as intelligent as dogs or cats.

I have personal knowledge about just how cunning an octopus can be. While an undergraduate, I worked at the New England Aquarium in their education department. One evening after hours, I was conducting a training course for the volunteers with Rosy, the Aquarium’s Pacific octopus. There were seven of us around her tank and I was showing them how I could tap the water gently and she would come up to see what was going on. She came up and rolled a tentacle over my hand. The volunteers all put their hands on the surface of the water while I continued to talk about her behavior. Very quietly she wound her tentacles gently over our hands and quickly grabbed us tight, so we could not pull away, and used her siphon to cover us with gallons of water. Then just as quickly she let go of our hands and whisked away into her cave. Meanwhile, her skin turned red and lumpy a sign that she was irritated with all of us! We were soaking wet and laughing. Another lesson learned. Always pay attention to an animal before interacting with it and give them their privacy. We all just want to be left alone at times.

Rosy was a character; she really did love a lobster dinner. Although octopus are soft and gelatinous, they do have one hard piece to their body and that is a beak located in the middle of the intersection of their tentacles on their head.

It looks exactly like a bird beak and can be just as destructive, crushing the exoskeleton of crustaceans. The octopus can squeeze through any small space if it can fit its beak through. At the aquarium, Rosy was in a tank on the same gallery as the American lobsters. Every night when the lights went out and we all went home, she would squeeze out of her tank and flop herself across the floor to the lobster tank, squeeze through the top and have herself a feast! They had quite a time trying to octopus proof her tank.

Our little arctic octopus live a long life, up to 6 years. Unfortunately, when the females mature and lay their eggs they stop eating and devote their life to aerating and caring for their eggs. By the time the eggs hatch and swim off, the female is emaciated and soon dies. True maternal devotion.

These octopus are rarely seen by anyone but the commercial fishermen who occasionally see them in their nets in the spring. I have been lucky to have held one briefly. They do not do well in captivity and prefer the open ocean; thus, you will not see one at the Oceanarium.

Ellen Goethel is a marine biologist from Hampton and owner of Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium at Hampton Beach.