Octomom's EGGxtreme -Brooding
The
deep ocean has spawned a new record: the longest egg-brooding period. In April
2007, Bruce Robison of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss
Landing, Calif., and colleagues sent a remote-operated vehicle down 1,397
meters (4,583 feet) into the Monterey Submarine Canyon. There they saw a
deep-sea octopus (Graneledone
boreopacifica) making its way toward a stony outcrop. One month
later, the scientists spotted the same octopus, which they dubbed ‘Octomom,’ on
the rock with a clutch of 155 to 165 eggs. The researchers returned to the site
18 times in total. Each time, there she was with her developing eggs.
Did you know that most female octopuses lay only one
clutch of eggs, staying with the eggs constantly and slowly starving to death
while protecting them from predators and keeping them clean. When the eggs
hatch, the female dies.
The octopus was observed on her eggs for 53 months, the longest brooding period of any known animal.
This video follows the deep-sea octopus dubbed “Octomom” as she brooded her eggs for more than 4.5 years. She may be gone now, but her hatchlings live on thanks to their mother’s care.
Credit: MBARI/YouTube Booshire, Ethany. "'Octomom' Sets Egg-brooding Record." Science News. N.p., 30 July 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.
