A small 11cm long Octopus - washed up on Broad Haven South Beach.
Also known as the lesser octopus or horned octopus , a cephalopod of up
to 50 cm in length.
Like other cephalopods, the curled octopus can instantly change its body colour to match
with the background . The head is oval, small and narrow. The large mantle spreads between eight long and slender arms. The tentacles have a single row of sucking discs
and their tappering ends are curled when at rest.
It feeds on large crustaceans such as lobsters and edible crabs using its powerful beak
to pierce carapace.
Common on the South West and West coast of Britain where it generally lives on rocky
bottoms between 10m and 150 m deep , sometimes found in Rockpools
and can be brought up in Crab Pots.
Ref: 12522
Date: 10/11/2013
Location: Broad Haven South
