There are just a couple of kinds of octopuses in the tidepools. In addition, several species of squids occasionally wash ashore, and it’s not uncommon to find squid eggs among the sea wrack.
I think this little octopus has characteristics in line with Octopus rubescens, but I have almost no experience with octopuses, so I’m not making the call. However, I’d appreciate it if you’d drop me a line if you can identify this cutie.
References
Gotshall, D. W. 2005. Guide to Marine Invertebrates, Alaska to Baja California 2nd Edition (Revised). Shoreline Press.
Harbo, R. M. 2011. Whelks to Whales: Coastal Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. 2nd ed. Harbour Publishing Co.
Kozloff, E. N. 1993. Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast. 3rd ed. University of Washington Press.
Lamb, A. and B. P. Hanby. 2005. Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing.
Sept. J. D. 2009. The Beachcomber’s Guide to Seashore Life in the Pacific Northwest. Revised ed. Harbour Publishing.
Online Resources
Biodiversity of the Central Coast’s molluscs page.
This page was updated on June 11, 2022.
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