page_title: Octopus minor
section_title: Feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Octopus minor / Distribution and Behaviour / Feeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Octopus minor with scale
context_page_description: Octopus minor, otherwise known as the Long arm Octopus or the Korean Common Octopus, is a small bodied octopus species distributed along the benthic coastal waters surrounding Eastern China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. It lives at depths ranging from 0 – 200m. O. minor is commonly found in the mudflats of sub-tidal zones leaving it exposed to significant environmental variations. It is grouped within the class Cephalopoda along with squids and cuttlefish.
  O. minor carries cultural and economic value in the Asian countries in which it is found. It is important commercially to the fishing communities in Korea, it contributes to the $35 million octopus industry. It is recognised as a Korean culinary seafood option, commonly referred to as ‘Nakji’. The octopus is served both cooked and raw, and is often a snack during sporting events.
  There have been multiple findings concerning the physiological makeup of the O. minor. It has been shown to host a dangerous parasite, whilst also demonstrating the ability to adapt its morphology to wide-ranging environmental conditions. These characteristics have increased interest in the species and its genome has been mapped.
context_section_description: O. minor, alike other octopus populations, possess predatory traits. O. minor’s diet coincides with that of other bottom-dwelling octopuses, with over 50% accounted for by fish, 25% by cephalopods such as whelks and clams, the remainder being made up of crustaceans such as crabs, annelids and nematodes, other commonly found species sharing the O. minor habitat. The small nature of the octopus means rejection of larger species including rock scallops and large fish.
  The benthic nature of the O. minor allows it to move between rocks and through crevices. Once it has identified its prey, it makes a sudden pounce, using its suckers to grip onto it and pull it in. The O. minor preys on smaller targets by trapping them in the web-like structure of its legs. The O. minor injects its prey with a paralysing saliva, using miniature teeth at the end of their salivary papilla to dismember them. When targeting shelled molluscs, the O. minor creates a toxic saliva which enables the calcium carbonate of the shell to be broken down. Once the outer protection is penetrated, the preys muscles relax allowing the octopus to remove its soft issues, in-turn, killing it.
  Feeding intensities differ between the males and females of the O. minor. Different intensities revolve around the ovarian maturation calendar of the female octopus. From months April to July the intensity of feeding in females decreased, alternatively an increase in males. Whilst 10 different taxa have been identified within the stomach of the O. minor, the Gobiidae family was most prevalent during the female’s ovarian maturation.
caption: O. minor with scale
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