Octopus tetricus Gould 1852

Sydney octopus, gloomy octopus

The Sydney Octopus, Octopus tetricus, has an upper body which is mottled grey-brown, the underside of the arms is rusty orange, arms of unequal length, the eyes are white.

The Sydney Octopus eats crustaceans and shellfish.It is ore active at night when it may leave its lair in search of food. It drills through shells and poisons its prey then opens the shells to eat the contents. A lair can often be recognised by the the discarded bivalve shells nearby.