Southern Blue-Ringed Octopus

About

A small octopus that hides under rocks coming out at night to feed and forage this octopus when resting is a pale brown colour but when agitated bright iridescent blue rings are highlighted over the entire animal.

A key thing to remember is that the blue rings are not always visible, and any small octopus shout be treated with care

Warning:Be aware this species is a deadly species the saliva contains the potentially lethal neurotoxin tetrodotoxin handling these animals is not recommended do not be fooled by the size

Size

Can grow to have a mantle length of around 6cm, with a total overal length of around 22cm

Habitat

Can be found on rocky reefs or areas of rubble and in seagrass meadows, from the intertidal areas out to a depth of at least 50m

Distribution

Southern Australia including around Tasmania

Gallery

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📷 marciariederer

Local Sightings

1 recorded sighting in and around the area.

References & citations (3)

1. Finn, J. (2018) Hapalochlaena maculosa Southern Blue-ringed Octopus in Museums Victoria Collections (accessed 2022-01-26 08:58:22)
2. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Hapalochlaena maculosa (Hoyle, 1883). (accessed 2022-01-26 08:58:54)
3. The Atlas of Living Australia (accessed 2022-08-05 16:52:12)