Common Octopus

Photo: Amanda Cogan Barber · CC BY-NC

Octopus are abundant in the rocky substrate around Sveti Nikola, excavating dens beneath limestone slabs and leaving characteristic middens of crab shells and bivalves at the entrance. They are highly intelligent, capable of colour-changing camouflage that renders them nearly invisible against algae-covered rock, and are best encountered on night dives when they emerge to hunt actively. Each individual occupies a home range of several square metres which it defends vigorously against rivals.