Spotting

Description:

Pygmy octopus? This one was pretty far from the water, maybe disoriented from the stronger-than-usual surf, so a friend of mine tried to return it to the water and it bit him with its tiny beak! It suctioned down onto his hand and bit three times. He thankfully was able to get the octopus off once be put his hand into the water. All octopi are venomous, as he learned the hard way, but thankfully this one wasn't very venomous. He said it made his hand warm and tingly and then numb, but has since healed and the only pain he had left after a couple of days seemed to be from the punctures from the beak. A different one on Captiva Island saw us walking by and inflated itself and flipped over to reveal its tentacles and beak, perhaps as an intimidation tactic.

Habitat:

Sandy, shell-covered beach

Notes:

We found 3 or 4 of these washed up on the beaches on Sanibel and Captiva throughout the day. I think there was a stronger tide than usual.