Collection, Transport and Husbandry of the Coconut Octopus, 
Amphioctopus marginatus (Taki, 1964) from the Philippines 
Bart Shepherd, Richard Ross, and Marisa Avila 
Steinhart Aquarium, California Academy of Sciences 
55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco CA 94118 
The coconut octopus, A/Mp/twcfopMS marginatus (Taki, 1964), is a small, charismatic, 
tropical, day-active species of octopus that is well suited for aquarium display. 
Despite this, they are never seen in the marine aquarium hobby and have never been 
displayed in public aquariums. As part of the California Academy of Sciences’ long¬ 
term scientihc collaboration in the Philippines, we collected 25 indiv iduals of A. mar¬ 
ginatus on two occasions (May 2011 and November 2012) and transported a total of 
18 coconut octopuses to Steinhart Aquarium for research and display. We developed 
techniques that support 100% survival of specimens during 3 critical stages: (1) col¬ 
lection via SCUBA, (2) temporary staging in the field and (3) international air-cargo 
transport. At Steinhart Aquarium, we successfully displayed A. marginatus in two 
separate exhibits. In aquaria, coconut octopuses lived their presumed natural lifes¬ 
pans (longevity up to 375 days post-collection, average of 195 days), exhibited typi¬ 
cal behaviors observed in the wild, such as constructing dens and hiding in contain¬ 
ers, and proved to be exceptionally popular with museum guests. The coconut octo¬ 
pus is a small-egged species with tiny paralarvae, complicating the development of 
aquarium-based captive breeding programs. In addition, commercial collectors have 
proven to be an unreliable source for this species. Thus, for the time being, success¬ 
ful aquarium display programs will likely involve targeted collecting trips. 
The coconut octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus (Taki, 1964), is an engaging, relatively small 
species of octopus, reaching a maximum mantle length (ML) of 80 mm and weight of 400 grams 
(Huffard and Hochberg 2005). Amphioctopus marginatus is also a benthic octopus occurring in the 
shallow tropical seas of the Indo-West Pacific, ranging fi'om the tropical waters of Indian and West¬ 
ern Pacific oceans in continental coastal waters (Norman 2000). We have obseived numerous indi¬ 
viduals of coconut octopuses living in close proximity to each other in sandy habitats in the Philip¬ 
pines, especially at sites with large numbers of discarded bottles, cans, ceramic pots or coconut 
shells: all of which are readily used as octopus dens (Fig. 1). These sites include areas heavily 
impacted by human activities, such as piers and shallow water near municipal centers. The coconut 
octopus has been observed to be active both in the day and at night, “exploiting” bright dive lights 
for opportunistic feeding during night dives as well as actively exploring sumoundings and social¬ 
ly interacting with conspecifics during the day. 
These characteristics make it a fantastic candidate for display in public aquariums. Many other 
species of octopus traditionally displayed in public aquaria are either nocturnal, extremely cryptic, 
or both, making them difficult to observe and enjoy. It is not uncommon for octopus displays to 
fail to engage public aquarium guests, either because the animals are out of view, hiding under tank 
decor, in rocks or crevices, or simply because they are so perfectly camouflaged as to be invisible 
in plain sight. By comparison, the coconut octopus is almost always in view due to its affim'ty of 
using bottles, cans or coconut shells as dens. Within aquaria, coconut octopuses tend to pick a den 
and stay positioned in it in such a way that at least part of their bodies remain visible to guests. 
In popular literature and on the web, the common name has been changed fi'om the veined 
octopus to coconut octopus based on descriptions of this species using empty coconut shells as 
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