Octopus Sex at Hydrothermal Vents

Hydrothermal Vent OctopusIn the video below, deep-sea octopus expert Janet Voight with the Field Museum, discusses sex in octopods focusing on Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis.  This ghostly looking octopus is only known from hydrothermal vents at 2600-2650m on the East Pacific Rise at 13 degrees north.  The ethereal appearance comes from a combination of the eyes being reduced and the body lacking pigment and chromatophores, resulting in a translucent skin.

i-4122638eebf951be81bd12e1ec8540ef-Vulcanoctopus garden
Vulcanoctopus feeds on the swarms of amphipods that occur near hydrothermal vents.

Join Janet as she takes us on an tour of of the anatomy and sex of Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis.

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