Octopus
Octopus cyanea
Octopus cyanea, known as the big blue octopus or day octopus, belongs to the family Octopodidae and is found across both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Hawaii to the eastern shores of Africa. It reaches a mantle length of about 16 cm with arms extending to at least 80 cm. The species was first described by British zoologist John Edward Gray in 1849, from a type specimen collected off Australia and now held at the Natural History Museum in London.
Family
Octopodidae
Avg Size
40-80 cm
Habitat
It lives on reefs and in shallow Indo-Pacific waters, ranging from the Red Sea, the East African coast and Madagascar through Southeast Asia and Oceania, and as far as Hawaii.
Behaviour
Unlike most octopuses, which are nocturnal, this species is active by day, though mainly around the low light of dawn and dusk. It keeps a den, returning there after foraging, whether that is a rock crevice, a sheltered spot beneath an overhang, a hideaway among coral heads, or a hole dug into rubble or sand. As a predator it works the reef for fish, crabs, shrimp and molluscs, eating small catches on the spot and hauling larger prey back to the den.
Where & When to See It
Paradise
Small Crack
Pinky Wall
Sodfa
Dunraven (Beacon Rock)
Ras Bob
Ras Burg
The Alternatives
Far Garden
Ras Ghamila
Ras Katy
Ras Nasrani
Ras Um Sid
Ras Zaatar
Jackfish Alley
Turtle Bay
Sha'ab Samadai (Dolphin House)
Jackson Reef
Fiddle Garden
Woodhouse Reef
Kormoran
Laguna Reef
Shaab Maksur
Elphinstone
Habili Ali
Middle Garden
Shaab Sataya
Eel Garden
Ras Ghozlani
Near Garden
Shark Observatory
Sha'ab Sharm
Shaab Claudia
Shark & Yolanda Reef
Thistlegorm
Tower
White Knight
Amphoras
Thomas Reef
Shark's Bay
Siyul Kebira
Small Giftun
Soma Bay Garden
South Ras Abu Galum
Temple
The Barge at Bluff Point
The Canyon
The Caves
The Islands
The Ulysses
Three Pools
Turft El Shahed
Turtle Reef
Umm Gamar North
Umm Gamar South
Zabargad Island
Abu Dabbab
Abu Kifan
Chrisoula K
Abu Nuhas
North Ras Abu Galum
Panorama Reef
Rocky Island
Salem Express
Abu Ramada North
Napoleon Reef
Abu Ghalawa
Abu Hashish
Abu Ramada South
Banana Reef
Belina Wreck
Big Giftun
Blue Hole - El Bells
Bluff Point
Careless Reef
Carnatic
Eel Gardens
El Erug
El Fanadir
El Fanous West
El Mina Wreck
Erg Abu Ramada
Erg Sabina
Erg Somaya
Fury Shoals
Giannis D
Gordon Reef
Gota Abu Ramada
Hamda
Kimon M
Lighthouse
Moray Garden - Golden Blocks
North Gabr El Bint
Ras Abu Helal
Ras Disha
Rosalie Moller
Shaab Abu Nugar
Shaab Eissa
Shaab El Erg
Shaab Eshta
Shaab Petra
Shaab Sabina
Shabrur Um Gamar
Shag Rock (Kingston)