Gloomy Octopus Biology
| Habitat | Rocky reefs and sand habitats in shallow waters, up to 30 m depth. | Norman (2000); Edgar (2008) |
| Distribution | Subtropical eastern Australia and northern New Zealand, increasingly found in Tasmania. | Norman (2000) |
| Diet | Crustaceans (crabs, lobster) and shellfish (gastropods, bivalves). | Norman and Reid (2000); Norman (2000) |
| Movement and Stock Structure | Undefined. | |
| Natural Mortality | Undefined. | |
| Maximum Age | Maximum of 11 months. | Ramos et al. (2014) |
| Growth | Max weight: up to 2.6 kg. Growth between 49 g to 2.64 kg described by the growth equation: ?=3.385(1−?−0.07642?)3 where W is the weight in kg and t is the age in days. Growth in the field may only be about 40% of growth in aquarium. | Joll (1977, 1983) |
| Maturity | Size-at-50% maturity was 132g for females and 92g for males. Age at 50% maturity 224 days for females and 188 days for males. | Ramos et al (2015) |
| Reproductive biology | Semelparous (i.e. reproduces only once before dying). Spawning season undefined but likely all year round. High fecundity (>250 000 eggs); egg length ~2.2 mm. Benthic eggs with active breeding by females. Planktonic hatchlings 2 – 5 mm length settling at 0.3g (8 mm). | Joll (1983) Ramos et al (2015) |
