By Summer Smith From Baynews9

Shown attached are three baby Caribbean reef octopus, also known as octopus briareus, that hatched last week. (Photo: Mote Marine Laboratory)

For the first time, the Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota is home to several new baby octopuses.

Last week, 18 Caribbean reef octopuses, called “octopus briareus” hatched.

More are expected from the mom, who’s still brooding over them. The new babies will join another group at the nursery.

In March around 40 Caribbean pygmy octopuses, called “octopus mercatoris,” hatched there as well.

Cephalopod Specialist Brian Siegel is tending to the babies.

“These animals are not rare, but they’re seldom seen,” said Siegel. “To document their actual full lifecycle is very rare in an aquarium setting.”

At about the size of a dime, the Caribbean reef octopus is slightly larger at hatch than the pygmy octopus.

The adults are bigger, too.

The reef grows to about the size of a baseball, the pygmy grows to about the size of a golf ball.

The octopuses are also masters of disguise. Both species have special cells in their skin called chromatophores that allow them to change their color and texture.

Because they’re so cryptic, neither species will be on display in the aquarium anytime soon. Siegel said they’re trying to come up with a way to showcase the animals in the future.

“These two species are highly nocturnal so they’re generally not active during daylight hours,” said Siegel. “So I basically have to figure out how to fake them out and show them as nighttime, when it’s really daytime and hopefully they’ll come out.”

While the nursery of babies will not be seen anytime soon, the aquarium does have a blue-ringed octopus on display.

“He’s such a pretty little animal and he’s very unique,” said Wayne Koepke, a volunteer.

The octopus is part of the aquarium’s special exhibit, Survivors: Beautiful and Extreme Adaptations.

The flamboyant cuttlefish, which also have chromatophores and can change colors at will are also on display.

Survivors is open through Sept. 14.

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