The lifespan of an octopus is short, typically lasting only three to five years. Females lay eggs only once in their lifetime and die shortly thereafter.
However, the period between mating, egg-laying, and premature death can be extensive: the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) guards its eggs for up to 50 days, the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) for six to seven months, and the deep-sea octopus (Graneledone boreopacifica) broods its eggs for up to 53 months. For four and a half years, the female remains with her eggs, waiting for the young octopuses to hatch and emerge into a hostile environment.
A defining characteristic of all female octopuses is their self-sacrifice for their offspring. Some seek out caves, sealing themselves inside with stones, never to leave again. Throughout the development of the eggs, the mother fans oxygen-rich water over her brood and guards them. Evolutionary mechanisms dictate that she dies precisely when the young hatch. With a final breath, the mother's life ends. Completely exhausted and often turning white, she lies on the seabed and dies, having literally exhausted all her resources for her offspring. The next generation is then released into the wild. Typically, only one in a hundred of the young octopuses survives to reproduce years later and, in the case of females, undergo the same sacrificial process.
Would you like to learn more about octopuses? Here are our recommendations:
Book recommendation: “Rendezvous mit einem Oktopus” by Sy Montgomery
Film recommendation: “Mein Lehrer der Oktopus”
