| Popis: |
Despite high octopodid diversity in the deep sea, the few opportunities to observe these animals in situ limit tests of behavioral predictions made from anatomy. Over the last decade, I have made numerous opportunistic observations of these octopuses using submersibles and remotely operated vehicles. Most commonly seen were octopuses near hydrothermal vents in the North Pacific Ocean at greater than 2200 m depth. Despite the potential submersible-created artifact, the observed behaviors of octopuses of the genera Benthoctopus Grimpe, 1921, Graneledone Joubin, 1918, and Vulcanoctopus Gonzalez et al., 1998 are reported here. Benthoctopus and Graneledone differ in wariness and in egg-brooding postures, although both genera produce large eggs from which male hatchlings emerge with clearly developed copulatory arms. In a behavior interpreted as foraging for infauna, octopuses of both genera move the mid-section of their arms through the upper sediment. Graneledone seems more common, perhaps because individuals... |
