We've had a lot of interest in octopi...
Todays guest blogger is Alex
An octopus has a fairly long gestation period, lasting around 11 months, and that’s without considering the chance of delayed implantation, which can last up to 3 months. But seeing how long it takes for the female to produce eggs, it’s no surprise that that amount of eggs produce would be a large number.
The female produces a good 200,000 eggs on average. These eggs are guarded for about 50 days before they hatch. The mothers do nothing for these 50 days but defend the eggs, not even eat or sleep. After the eggs have hatched, most females die from starvation and fatigue, while the male dies a few months later. Seeing how there is no one to defend them, only about 1% of the hatched eggs will survive being hunted down by predators.
Source: http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/fieldcourses03/PapersMarineEcologyArticles/Octopus.html
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