Tentaculi Florere @tentaculiflorere - Tumblr Blog

You may know that octopuses change color to camouflage, but can these kaleidoscopic displays also communicate their “emotions?” And how do octopuses even change colors?

Cephalopod aquarist Candace is back with our giant Pacific octopus—and a supporting cast of wild cephalopods—for some show and tell about the amazing color-changing abilities of octopuses!

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I’m a proud mama! Or rather, the octopus I’ve been taking care of is a proud mama. She has done a beautiful job taking care of her eggs and now it’s on me to make sure these little guys live well. Cutest challenge ever!

They have chromatophores (pigment cells) that begin to fire immediately upon hatching, which is why they suddenly look brown as they emerge instead of the pale white like their sleepy brothers and sisters still in the eggs. It’s been fascinating to watch it all happen!

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That’s one small step for an octopus, and one giant leap for cephalopods.

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I try not to play favorites with the animals at work, but our new Common Octopus is definitely working his way up the list. I absolutely love how interactive this little nugget is, and I am excited to see him learn and figure things out!