53 months for hatching eggs
During the 53 months of incubation, the mother had to ensure that the eggs are bathed continuously in a well-oxygenated water, and prevent them from being covered with mud. It was also protected from predators . During that time, researchers have never seen the female to leave her eggs or feed. Instead, it did not seem to be interested in small crabs or shrimp around her, she lost weight and her skin became paler and loose.
Small hatched: the eggs are empty in this picture.
All eggs hatched © 2014 Robison et al. Plos One, cc by 4.0
This is not surprising in these cephalopods : Most octopus females lay only once in their life and usually die shortly after hatching. During brooding, octopus stop eating or drastically reduce their food intake. Here, scientists had no evidence that the animal was feeding during breeding. That's why they were wondering how the octopus was able to live so long, while low temperatures and inactivity lead to energy needs rather weak.
A rather long life expectancy
http://androidstars.newsvine.com/_news/2014/08/05/25184554-fly-the-mission-stardust
http://androidgeek.ucoz.com/blog/there_would_be_oxygen_in_the_earth_39_s_core/2014-08-06-19
http://carmiell.blogspot.com/2014/08/july-news-that-should-not-be-missed.html
For kids there are of course advantages to being incubated so long: these octopuses have no larval stage to hatching, they are able to survive by themselves and hunt small prey. From the point of view of evolution, the species would have found a balance between the benefits of a slow development and the ability of the mother to survive for years with very little food, if at all.
But this research also suggests a fairly long shelf life for this species: it could be one of cephalopods living as long as most octopuses generally live a year or two. For the researchers, "the brooding also provides an extension of the life of an adult far exceeds most projections of longevity cephalopods".
During the 53 months of incubation, the mother had to ensure that the eggs are bathed continuously in a well-oxygenated water, and prevent them from being covered with mud. It was also protected from predators . During that time, researchers have never seen the female to leave her eggs or feed. Instead, it did not seem to be interested in small crabs or shrimp around her, she lost weight and her skin became paler and loose.
Small hatched: the eggs are empty in this picture.
All eggs hatched © 2014 Robison et al. Plos One, cc by 4.0
This is not surprising in these cephalopods : Most octopus females lay only once in their life and usually die shortly after hatching. During brooding, octopus stop eating or drastically reduce their food intake. Here, scientists had no evidence that the animal was feeding during breeding. That's why they were wondering how the octopus was able to live so long, while low temperatures and inactivity lead to energy needs rather weak.
A rather long life expectancy
http://androidstars.newsvine.com/_news/2014/08/05/25184554-fly-the-mission-stardust
http://androidgeek.ucoz.com/blog/there_would_be_oxygen_in_the_earth_39_s_core/2014-08-06-19
http://carmiell.blogspot.com/2014/08/july-news-that-should-not-be-missed.html
For kids there are of course advantages to being incubated so long: these octopuses have no larval stage to hatching, they are able to survive by themselves and hunt small prey. From the point of view of evolution, the species would have found a balance between the benefits of a slow development and the ability of the mother to survive for years with very little food, if at all.
But this research also suggests a fairly long shelf life for this species: it could be one of cephalopods living as long as most octopuses generally live a year or two. For the researchers, "the brooding also provides an extension of the life of an adult far exceeds most projections of longevity cephalopods".
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