If you have ever seen an octopus you may find them to be either scary or very fascinating. With two eyes and four pairs of arms (eight arms) with suction cups, and no internal or external skeleton, the octopus can move in between the most narrowest of places. Being this flexible allows for the octopus to creep up on its prey stealthily. The octopus uses many techniques depending on their surroundings to capture prey, and they include the expulsion of ink, the use of camouflage and deimatic displays, abilitly to jet quickly through the water, and hiding capability because of their flexibe bodies. The octopus is one of the most intelligent marine species, especially in the category of invertebrae marine organisms. This organism can be found not only in this ecosystem, but also in coral reefs, pelagic waters, and the deep ocean floor.
In this particular ecosystem, however, only one such species of octopus has been known to exist. That is the Vulcanoctopus Hydrothermalis. The species has been found in the Mid Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise. A study recently conducted by scientists located this species at the coordinates 12°48.43'N-103°56.41'W; 2600 to 2650 m depth in the East Pacific Rise. Where the octopus lives, temperature can range between 1.6 and 10 °C around the Riftia pachyptila plumes, and from 7 to 91 °C close to the alvinellid polychaete population.
This "volcano octopus" only measures up to about 52mm in mantle length and its eyes are greatly reduced (have no iris), and its body lacks pigment and chromatophores. As a result, the Vulcanoctopus Hydrothermalis has translucent skin. As far as its physiology is concerned, all that is known about this species is that light has no effect, which makes sense since there is no iris in the eyes. No cryptic color change is believed to occur like in other octopodids in shallow water.
The V. Hydrothermalis uses its arms to climb the vents and crawl across the ocean floor. They never swim unless, it is in the flight or fight response due to predators being close. This species has only been known to consist of males, however, mating can include male-male and male-female octopodids. For nutritional purposes, this octopus's prey include the crab Bythograea thermydron and amphipod swarms of Halice hesmonectes. As shown in a picture if you go to the third site listed below, the Vulcanoctopus Hydrothermalis is using its webs and tentacles to trap the swarms. The V. Hydrothermalis can also be found on cliffs of basaltic rock covered with oxidized sulphides and colonies of tubeworms, Alvinellidae polychaetes and mussels, as well as, on basaltic rock substrata around hydrothermal vent zones where crabs, galatheids and zoarcid fishes have also been found.
