FAQ

When do octopuses have their young?

**Thanks to Ryan goldberg for submitting this question**

Question:
Dear Dr. James B. Wood, I have a quick question about octopuses. I searched all these different search engines and couldn't find it. The question is: When do they have their young? For example, do they have it in 2 or 3 particular months or do they have it in the duration of a season. Thanks The Octopus Fan
Answer:
Ryan, The quick answer is that it depends on species and also location (environmental conditions). There are over 100 species of octopus just in the genus Octopus. Some, like the Octopus briareus population found in the Florida Keys seem to lay eggs every year around December to January. I seem to get a bunch of pygmy octopus with eggs questions about the same time of year as well. By the way, as far as I know, this information isn't published anywhere so you certainly are not going to find it on the web, and probably not even in a University Library. Anyway, other species have other patterns and some lay eggs at any time during the year. Dr. James Wood

Last updated June 30, 2003 by Catriona Day.