The dumbo octopus incubates its eggs for about four and a half years.
Why it is true
In 2005, MBARI researchers observed a dumbo octopus guarding its eggs on a rocky wall off California. The female stayed there for more than 53 months, the longest known incubation period among animals, without feeding the entire time.
Source: MBARI
Would you rather be asked first?
This is the reading side of the site, so the answer is in the sentence above — that is the whole point of it. Test yourself works the other way round: the question comes on its own, and the fact and the explanation only appear once you have answered.
Related facts
A tiny blue octopus the size of a golf ball was discovered at 1,800 metres deep in the Galapagos.
The mimic octopus can imitate more than 15 different animals, including the lionfish and the sea snake.
The octopus can taste with its arms.
The octopus changes color in milliseconds.
