January 24, 2011 
Yesterday afternoon, after Waikīkī ArtFest, James and Cassidy joined me for a benthic survey in front of the aquarium. The surge was pretty strong and the tide was too low at the random point. Thus, we decided to complete a survey closer to shore. After the survey, James and I encountered an octopus hanging out on the sand.
Day Octopus? (Octopus spp.)
Day Octopus? (Octopus spp.)
Octopuses, also known as he’e in Hawaiian, or Tako in Pidgin, are marine invertebrates in the phylum Mollusca and class Cephalopoda. Other cephalopods include squid and cuttlefish.
(photos by James Jackson)
Reef Watch Waikīkī 
Great pictures Heather! So clear. Would this kind of Octopus squirt out” ink like”
liquid if they feel danger coming their way? Joni~
Hi Joni, octopuses are invertebrates in the Cephalopod class, which includes squid. Both have an ink sac and the ability to squirt ink. They usually release ink when they feel threatened or when escaping a predator.
Other molluscs include snails and slugs (class Gastropoda), and clams and oysters (class Bivalvia). To learn more about biological classification and what we mean by “class”, “phylum”, and “family”, check out this article on MarineBio.org:
http://marinebio.org/oceans/marine-taxonomy.asp
that is awesome…great photos. I want to see an octopus…I did in fact see one out of Kamaina Beach once…saw him emerge from a crack and then go down in the sand.