# Octopus californicus
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{{Short description|Species of octopus}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Octopus Californicus.jpeg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = [{{cite iucn |author=Allcock, L. |author2=Taite, M. |author3=Allen, G. |year=2018 |title=''North Pacific Bigeye Octopus'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T163119A974426 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T163119A974426.en |access-date=12 September 2025}}]
| genus = Octopus
| species = californicus
| authority = S. S. Berry, 1911
| synonyms = Polypus californicus[{{Cite web |title=Octopus californicus (Berry, 1911) |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=82619#null |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=[Integrated Taxonomic Information System](/source/Integrated_Taxonomic_Information_System)}}][{{Cite journal |last1=Switzer |first1=Ryan D. |last2=Parnell |first2=P. Ed |last3=Leichter |first3=James L. |last4=Driscoll |first4=Neal W. |date=1999 |title=The effects of tectonic deformation and sediment allocation on shelf habitats and megabenthic distribution and diversity in southern California |journal=[Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science](/source/Estuarine%2C_Coastal_and_Shelf_Science) |volume=169 |pages=25–37 |doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2015.11.020 |issn=0272-7714|doi-access=free }}] is an octopus in the family [Octopodidae](/source/Octopodidae).[{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Octopus californicus (S. S. Berry, 1911) |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=341958 |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=[World Register of Marine Species](/source/World_Register_of_Marine_Species)}}] It is provisionally assigned to the genus ''Octopus'', but some scholars have concluded it belongs in other genera.[{{Cite journal |last1=Díaz-Santana-Iturrios |first1=Mariana |last2=Salinas-Zavala |first2=César Augusto |last3=García-Rodríguez |first3=Francisco Javier |last4=Granados-Amores |first4=Jasmín |date=2019-11-29 |title=Taxonomic assessment of species of the genus ''Octopus'' from the northeastern Pacific via morphological, molecular and morphometric analyses |journal=[PeerJ](/source/PeerJ) |volume=7 |article-number=e8118 |doi=10.7717/peerj.8118 |s2cid=208639451 |issn=2167-8359|doi-access=free |pmc=6886487 }}][{{Cite journal |last1=Ibáñez |first1=Christian M. |last2=Fenwick |first2=Mark |last3=Ritchie |first3=Peter A. |last4=Carrasco |first4=Sergio A. |last5=Pardo-Gandarillas |first5=M. Cecilia |date=2020 |title=Systematics and Phylogenetic Relationships of New Zealand Benthic Octopuses (Cephalopoda: Octopodoidea) |journal=[Frontiers in Marine Science](/source/Frontiers_in_Marine_Science) |volume=7 |doi=10.3389/fmars.2020.00182 |issn=2296-7745|doi-access=free }}] ''O. californicus'' was first documented by [S. Stillman Berry](/source/S._Stillman_Berry) in 1911.[{{Cite book |last=Robson |first=G. C. |title=A Monograph of the recent Cephalopoda based on the collections in the British Museum (Natural History) |date=1929-07-27 |publisher=Trustees of the British Museum |volume=1: Octopodinae |location=London, UK |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.106032 |s2cid=4120182 |language=en}}]
== Description ==
''Octopus californicus'' is medium-sized[{{Cite book |url=https://www.fao.org/3/i3489e/i3489e.pdf |title=Cephalopods of the world: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cephalopod Species Known to Date. Volume 3: Octopods and Vampire Squids |publisher=[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations](/source/Food_and_Agriculture_Organization_of_the_United_Nations) |year=2016 |isbn=978-92-5-107989-8 |editor-last=Jereb |editor-first=Patrizia |series=FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes |location=Rome, Italy |language=en |editor-last2=Roper |editor-first2=Clyde F. E. |editor-last3=Norman |editor-first3=Mark D. |editor-last4=Finn |editor-first4=Julian K.}}] and has a body up to 14 cm in diameter, with arms up to 30.5 cm in length;[{{Cite web |title=North Pacific bigeye octopus |url=https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/north-pacific-bigeye-octopus |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=[Monterey Bay Aquarium](/source/Monterey_Bay_Aquarium)}}] it has a mantle length of around 140 millimeters[{{Cite web |last1=Ormseth |first1=Olav A. |last2=Conners |first2=M. Elizabeth |date=2017-11-01 |title=Assessment of the Octopus Stock Complex in the Gulf of Alaska |url=https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/17528#tabs-2 |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=NOAA Institutional Repository}}] It is soft-skinned,[{{Cite web |last1=Gillespie |first1=G. E. |last2=Parker |first2=G. |last3=Morrison |first3=J. |date=1998 |title=A Review of Octopus Fisheries Biology and British Columbia Octopus Fisheries |url=https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/227412.pdf |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=Fisheries and Oceans Canada Library}}] with large eyes, a rough body, and star shaped patches on the skin.[{{cite journal |last1=Khen |first1=Adi |last2=McCormick |first2=Lillian R. |last3=Steinke |first3=Christine A. |last4=Rouse |first4=Greg W. |last5=Zerofski |first5=Phil J. |date=November 2022 |title=First known observations of brooding, development, and hatching of fertilized eggs for the North Pacific bigeye octopus, Octopus californicus |journal=[Ecology and Evolution](/source/Ecology_and_Evolution) |language=en |volume=12 |issue=11 |doi=10.1002/ece3.9481 |pmc=9631326 |issn=2045-7758 }}] Females spawn around 100 to 500 eggs at once.