The "Bashful, Brainy," Super Sucker Octopus?

The "beautiful, brainy, bashful" octopus. Photo courtesy of J. Nichols

The Marine Science Lecture Series on Orcas Island concludes its 2010 series with ““Super Suckers: Giant Octopus and other Cephalopods” with Tim Carpenter.

Beautiful, bashful and brainy, the giant Pacific octopus leads a life of mystery. With a personality that’s as complex as its appearance, this animal is a master of disguise that can open jars, mimic other octopuses, and solve mazes in lab tests.

Tim Carpenter, Curator of  Fish and Invertebrates at the Seattle Aquarium will give the free public lecture  on the evening of  Tuesday, March 9 on Orcas at Camp Orkila at 7p.m. (Carpenter will also present the lecture on Monday, March 8 onLopez at the Public Library.)

Like squid, octopi are cephalopods, meaning ‘head-foot’, so named because the feet (arms) are attached to the head. Octopuses have a highly developed brain and acute vision. The North Pacific Giant Octopus, or the Giant Pacific Octopus, is distinguished from other species by their sheer size. Adults can weigh around 33 lb, with an arm span of up to 14 ft.

Octopus live to be about four years old; with both males and females dying soon after breeding. Females live long enough to tend fastidiously to their eggs, but they do not eat during this months-long brooding period.

To make up for its relatively short life span, the octopus is extremely prolific. It can lay up to 100,000 eggs which are intensively cared for by the females. Hatchlings are about the size of a grain of rice, and only a very few survive to adulthood.

This will be the last lecture of the 2009/10 Marine Science Lecture Series, which was created to inspire the general public and to highlight the amazing fish and wildlife of our region. Visitors are asked to park in the upper parking lot at Camp Orkila. Shuttle service from the parking lot to the talk is available before and after the lecture.

The 2009-2010 Marine Science Lecture Series is presented by program partners The SeaDoc Society and YMCA Camp Orkila. It has been made possible through generous sponsorship by Tom Averna (Deer Harbor Charters), The Gould Family Foundation and co-sponsorship by Barbara Brown, Eclipse Charters, The Kingfish Inn, Shearwater Kayaks and Jim and Kathy Youngren.