The Octopus - Michael Gruber

Name:
Michael Gruber

Country:
Austria

Web:
www.hieronymus-illustrations.com

Social networks:
www.facebook.com/Hieronymus-Illustrations

Title:
The Octopus

Species or element:
Octopus vulgaris

Description:
Octopus vulgaris belongs to the class Cephalopoda and is distributed in the mediterranean sea and the east Atlantic Ocean (real distribution area unknown). It can be found between 1-200m depth and is also capable of moving above the waterlevel hunting for crabs between rocky boulders. Females lay between 120,000-400,000 eggs (2mm long). While guarding the eggs, the female is not eating and usually dies after hatching of the babies. It is feeding on crabbs and shells which are dragged and ingested at the cave of the octopus. Their salivary glands produce a stunning poison and proteolytic substances. This poison is stunning the crabbs in less than 30sec and dissolves the tissue within 30min. Afterwards everything is sucked out of the carapace.

Category:
Handmade

Technique:
Mixed media: stippling with ink and coloring with Photoshop

Year:
2017