Octopus Settlements: Octopolis and Octlantis - Underwater Habitats Built by Gloomy Octopuses
By
eatonphil
Hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, baked to perfection. Worth every minute at the bakery.
Summary
Octopolis and Octlantis are two unique underwater settlements created by gloomy octopuses (Octopus tetricus) in Jervis Bay, Australia. Octopolis, discovered in 2009, features a 2-3 meter elliptical bed of scallop shells with a single piece of human-made scrap metal, while Octlantis (found in 2016) contains no artificial objects. Both sites can house up to 14 octopuses at once, with the shells providing superior building material compared to surrounding sediment. Researchers caution against describing these as "cities" as the analogy may be misleading.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledOctopolis consists of a bed of shells (mainly scallop shells) in an ellipse shape, 2–3 meters diameter on its longer axis, with a single piece of anthropogenic detritus, believed to be scrap metal, within the site
The shells appear to provide a much better building material for the octopuses than the fine sediment around the site
Some media accounts have described these sites as octopus "cities," but researchers who have worked on the sites view this as a misleading analogy
Up to 14 octopuses have been seen at Octopolis at a single time
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