English actor Robson Green has always been fascinated by Australia.
Craving an adventure away from the big city, he takes off to the dirt
roads to find the wild side of the land Down Under.
In this four part series, Robson sets out to experience what life here
is all about, heading to South Australia, the Northern Territory,
Western Australia and Queensland. He's on a mission to meet the people
of these places and find out how this land of extremes shapes the lives
of those who inhabit it.
From the opal miners of Coober Pedy (SA) and the Jawoyn people of Arnhem
Land (NT), to the Barramundi farmers of Cone Bay (WA) and the
communities living off the grid in the Daintree Rainforest (QLD) and
more, Robson discovers how these people all connect to this vast and
ancient land.
Type: Documentary
Languages: English
Status: Ended
Runtime: 60 minutes
Premier: 2015-11-12
Robson Green's Australian Adventure - Blue-ringed octopus - Netflix
Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus Hapalochlaena, are four
highly venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and
coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans, from Japan to Australia.
They can be identified by their yellowish skin and characteristic blue
and black rings that change color dramatically when threatened. They eat
small animals, including crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp, and other
crustaceans. They are recognized as one of the world's most venomous
marine animals. Despite their small size—12 to 20 cm (5 to 8 in)—and
relatively docile nature, they are dangerous to humans if provoked and
handled because of their venom which contains the powerful neurotoxin
tetrodotoxin.
Robson Green's Australian Adventure - Reproduction - Netflix
The mating ritual for the blue-ringed octopus begins when a male
approaches a female and begins to caress her with his modified arm, the
hectocotylus. A male mates with a female by grabbing her, which
sometimes completely obscures the female's vision, then transferring
sperm packets by inserting his hectocotylus into her mantle cavity
repeatedly. Mating continues until the female has had enough, and in at
least one species the female has to remove the over-enthusiastic male by
force. Males will attempt copulation with members of their own species
regardless of sex or size, but interactions between males are most often
shorter in duration and end with the mounting octopus withdrawing the
hectocotylus without packet insertion or struggle. Blue-ringed octopus
females lay only one clutch of about 50 eggs in their lifetimes towards
the end of autumn. Eggs are laid then incubated underneath the female's
arms for about six months, and during this process she does not eat.
After the eggs hatch, the female dies, and the new offspring will reach
maturity and be able to mate by the next year.
Robson Green's Australian Adventure - References - Netflix