Caribbean Reef Octopus
Octopus briareus
Sighting evidence at Cueva de los Peces, Bay of Pigs
Photo: Jean-Paul Cassez · CC BY-NC
Several individuals inhabit permanent dens in the cave's limestone walls, identifiable by the shells and rubble piles outside each den entrance. They hunt at night along the cave margins, using sophisticated colour-change camouflage to stalk crabs and molluscs across the textured rock. Their dens are long-term home sites — the same crevices are typically occupied by successive individuals as territories are inherited when a resident dies.
Evidence at this site
No confirmed records on file at this site
Caribbean Reef Octopus is listed as a curated species here based on historical reports.