Larger Pacific striped octopus | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Order: | Octopoda |
Family: | Octopodidae |
Genus: | Octopus |
Subgenus: | Octopus |
Species: | O. sp. |
Binomial name | |
Octopus sp. | |
The larger Pacific striped octopus (LPSO), or Harlequin octopus, is a species of octopus known for its intelligence and gregarious nature. [1] The species was first documented in the 1970s and, being fairly new to scientific observation, has yet to be scientifically described. Because of this, LPSO has no official scientific name. [2] [3] Unlike other octopus species which are normally solitary, the LPSO has been reported as forming groups of up to 40 individuals. [4] [5] [6] While most octopuses are cannibalistic and have to exercise extreme caution while mating, these octopuses mate with their ventral sides touching, pressing their beaks and suckers together in an intimate embrace. [7] The LPSO has presented many behaviors that differ from most species of octopus, including intimate mating behaviors, formation of social communities, unusual hunting behavior, and the ability to reproduce multiple times throughout their life. [8] The LPSO has been found to favor the tropical waters of the Eastern Pacific. [2]
LPSO exhibits three main body color patterns that include completely pale, completely dark brown, and a dark brown and white pattern that is referred to as "stripe-bar-spot". [2] When displaying the stripe-bar-spot body color pattern, LPSO is observed to have bar and stripe patterns that alternate between brown and white across its head and mantle, and dark brown with white spots over its arm crown and arms. [2] The pattern can serve as a unique identifier as it varies among individuals. [2] Though LPSO has similar body color patterns to other octopuses like Octopus chierchiae, [9] Octopus zonatus, [10] Abdopus spp., [11] Thaumoctopus mimicus, [12] and Wunderpus photogenicus, [12] the body patterns it exhibits are unique to the species.
LPSO has been documented in many locations throughout the tropics of the Eastern Pacific. Specimens have been located in the Bay of Panama, Panama, Guatemala, Magdelena Bay, Baja Sur, Mexico, the northern Pacific coast of Colombia, and Nicaragua. [2] LPSO seems to prefer denning in areas with soft muddy substrates or a mix of mud and sand, ranging in depth from 7m to 100m. [2] The species has also been observed to form colonies of up to 40 close-living individuals. [4] These colonies of LPSO construct dens within 1m of one another and live in the same general area for the span of their lives. [4]
LPSO is known in particular for its display of mating behaviors that are vastly different from most octopus species. While most octopuses use either "distance mating" (when the male places hectocotylus into the female's mantle from a safe distance) or a mounting position, [13] [14] [15] LPSO uses a more intimate approach. Typically, a brooding female that is ready to mate exhibits an entirely pale body color pattern while the male exhibits a high contrast stripe-bar-spot body color pattern. [2] Once the male and female LPSO decide to mate, they join in a beak-to-beak position, embracing in an entanglement of arms. [2] Unlike some species of octopus, female LPSO are not cannibalistic during mating and are rather gentle, leaving only surface level sucker marks as a result of the beak-to-beak embrace. [2]
Pair bonding has been observed in LPSO through behaviors such as food and den sharing. [2]
Unlike most octopus species, LPSO can spawn multiple times throughout the span of their life. [2] Eggs are laid in pairs within the den and the female tends to them until they hatch, running the tips of her arms over them to maintain the health of the eggs. [2]
Once hatched from the egg, the offspring are pelagic until adulthood. [16]
LPSO has been observed to prey upon a variety of shellfish including shrimp, stomatopods, crabs, and bivalves. [2] They use hunting methods of stalking, chasing, and ambush depending on the prey item in question. [2] When eating bivalves, smaller prey is either crushed or pulled apart, while holes are drilled into larger prey. [2] When hunting shrimp, LPSO carefully extends its arm, suckers positioned outward, to touch and capture the shrimp. [2] When hunting crabs, LPSO uses an ambush method, pouncing directly onto the crab for capture. [2]
LPSO live about two years. [3]
Like most octopus species, LPSO goes through a stage of senescence, which marks the approach of death. [2] Senescence in LPSO has been observed to be longer for females and shorter for males. [2] After the first signs of senescence, males will typically last 1 to 2 weeks before death, while females will typically last between 2 and 4 months. [2]
An octopus is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda. The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like other cephalopods, an octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beaked mouth at the center point of the eight limbs. The soft body can radically alter its shape, enabling octopuses to squeeze through small gaps. They trail their eight appendages behind them as they swim. The siphon is used both for respiration and for locomotion, by expelling a jet of water. Octopuses have a complex nervous system and excellent sight, and are among the most intelligent and behaviourally diverse of all invertebrates.
Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus Hapalochlaena, are four extremely 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 can change color dramatically when the animal is threatened. They eat small crustaceans, including crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp, and other small sea animals.
The California two-spot octopus, often simply called a "bimac", is an octopus species native to many parts of the Pacific Ocean including the coast of California. One can identify the species by the circular blue eyespots on each side of its head. Bimacs usually live to be about two years old. They are closely related to Verrill's two-spot octopus. In 2015, the genome was sequenced.
The southern blue-ringed octopus is one of three highly venomous species of blue-ringed octopuses. It is most commonly found in tidal rock pools along the south coast of Australia. As an adult, it can grow up to 20 centimetres (8 in) long and on average weighs 26 grams (0.9 oz). They are normally a docile species, but they are highly venomous, possessing venom capable of killing humans. Their blue rings appear with greater intensity when they become aggravated or threatened.
The greater blue-ringed octopus is one of four species of extremely venomous blue-ringed octopuses belonging to the family Octopodidae. This particular species of blue-ringed octopus is known as one of the most toxic marine animals in the world.
The Caribbean reef squid, commonly called the reef squid, is a species of small, torpedo-shaped squid with undulating fins that extend nearly the entire length of the body, approximately 20 cm in length. They are most commonly found in the Caribbean Sea in small schools. As part of the Cephalopod class of Molluscs, these organisms exhibit specific characteristics to help them in their environment, such as tentacles for movement and feeding and color pigments that reflect their behavioral conditions.
The giant Pacific octopus, also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus and Enteroctopodidae family. Its spatial distribution encompasses much of the coastal North Pacific, from the Mexican state of Baja California, north along the United States' West Coast, and British Columbia, Canada; across the northern Pacific to the Russian Far East, south to the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan, Japan's Pacific east coast, and around the Korean Peninsula. It can be found from the intertidal zone down to 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and is best-adapted to colder, oxygen- and nutrient-rich waters. It is the largest octopus species on earth and can often be found in aquariums and research facilities in addition to the ocean. E. dofleini play an important role in maintaining the health and biodiversity of deep sea ecosystems, cognitive research, and the fishing industry.
Amphioctopus marginatus, also known as the coconut octopus and veined octopus, is a medium-sized cephalopod belonging to the genus Amphioctopus. It is found in tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean. It commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs, and clams, and displays unusual behavior including bipedal and quadrupedal walking as well as tool use.
Octopus cyanea, also known as the big blue octopus or day octopus, is an octopus in the family Octopodidae. It occurs in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Hawaii to the eastern coast of Africa. O. cyanea grows to 16 cm in mantle length with arms to at least 80 cm. This octopus was described initially by the British zoologist John Edward Gray in 1849; the type specimen was collected off Australia and is at the Natural History Museum in London.
Oratosquilla oratoria, the Japanese mantis shrimp, is a species of mantis shrimp found in the western Pacific. It is widely harvested in Japan and eaten as sushi. Like other members of its order it has a powerful spear, which it uses to hunt invertebrates and small fish. It grows to a length of 185 millimetres (7.3 in), and lives at depths of 10–100 metres (33–328 ft).
Cuttlefish, or cuttles, are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of buoyancy.
Macroctopus maorum is known more commonly as the Maori octopus or the New Zealand octopus. It is found in the waters around New Zealand and southern Australia. M. maorum is one of the largest and most aggressive octopus species living in the New Zealand and Australian waters. They feed mainly on crustaceans and fish. Although they have a short life span, the females lay thousands of eggs and are very protective of them.
Callistoctopus ornatus is a tropical species of octopus native to the Indo-Pacific region. Other common names include white-striped octopus and night octopus, in reference to its nocturnal habits. It was previously known as Polypus ornatus. C. ornatus is edible and was recorded in a Hawaiian market in 1914 by S. S. Berry.
Octopus chierchiae is commonly known as the lesser Pacific striped octopus or pygmy zebra octopus. It has been proposed as a model organism for cephalopod research as it is one of the few octopus species with the ability to lay multiple egg clutches (iteroparity), compared to most octopus species that are semelparous and die after one reproductive event. This makes Octopus chierchiae a candidate for sustainable and multigenerational laboratory research.
Abdopus aculeatus is a small octopus species in the order Octopoda. A. aculeatus has the common name of algae octopus due to its typical resting camouflage, which resembles a gastropod shell overgrown with algae. It is small in size with a mantle around the size of a small orange and arms 25 cm in length, and is adept at mimicking its surroundings.
Octopus tetricus, the gloomy octopus or the common Sydney octopus, is a species of octopus from the subtropical waters of eastern Australia and New Zealand. O.tetricus belongs to the Octopus vulgaris species group and is a commercially prized species. All species within the O. vulgaris group are similar in morphology. The English translation of O. tetricus (Latin) is 'the gloomy octopus'.
Wunderpus photogenicus, the wunderpus octopus, is a small-bodied species of octopus with distinct white and rusty brown coloration. 'Wunderpus' from German “wunder” meaning ‘marvel or wonder’.
Octopus bimaculatus, commonly referred to as Verrill's two-spot octopus, is a similar species to the Octopus bimaculoides, a species it is often mistaken for. The two can be distinguished by the difference in the blue and black chain-like pattern of the ocelli. O. bimaculatus hunt and feed on a diverse number of benthic organisms that also reside off the coast of Southern California. Once the octopus reaches sexual maturity, it shortly dies after mating, which is approximately 12–18 months after hatching. Embryonic development tends to be rapid due to this short lifespan of these organisms.
Sepia lycidas, commonly known as the kisslip cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish within the genus Sepia. They are also classified under the family Sepiidae, which encompasses some of the most commonly known and recognized cuttlefish. Phylogenetically, this species of cuttlefish is most closely related to Sepia aculeata, Sepia esculenta, and Sepia pharaonis. This species is typically reddish brown to purple in color, with patches and stripes present on their dorsal mantle. On average, they grow to be about 38 cm in length and weigh 5 kg at maximum. The kisslip cuttlefish can be found mainly within the Indo-West Pacific, at depths ranging from 15–100 meters. Additionally, this species exhibits many diverse, complex reproductive behaviors; for example, courting, mating displays, and mate competition. Other interesting behaviors includes their feeding and hunting methods, which entails turning towards a preferred direction to "jump on" and engulf their prey of small fish and crustaceans. Sepia lycidas has many human uses and is important in the economy of many Southeast Asian countries, especially since they are often eaten for their high nutritional value. They are also currently being studied as an alternative source of collagen for human use, since their thick outer skin contain high levels of collagen that goes to waste when they are eaten or caught as bycatch.
Abdopus capricornicus is a species of octopus in the family Octopodidae, and is often also referred to as Octopus capricornicus. This octopus is native to the Great Barrier Reef and is often found throughout the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. There are six other species of octopuses within the subgenus Abdopus with a large number of organisms not yet described. This octopus is notable for its unique body patterning through which it can change. The likely uses for this characteristic are camouflage or intraspecific communication. Other organisms in the Abdopus genus include A. horridus, A. abaculus, A. aculeatus, and A. tonganus. Individuals are capable of autotomy, sacrificing a writhing arm to a predator to distract it while making an escape.
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