bighead octopus articles - Encyclopedia of Life

Comprehensive Description

provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology

Octopus vitiensis Hoyle, 1885

DIAGNOSIS.—Animal small (15 mm ML). Mantle oblong, narrower posteriorly; no neck region; head wider than mantle width; eyes large, prominent. Funnel organ W-shaped with limbs nearly parallel. Arms moderate in length (ALI 72), arm order III > II > IV > I. Suckers large (SIn 13), deeply set, sucker surface about level with arm surface. Inner margin of sucker ring bears row of about 15 fleshy beads, outer edge of aperture with about 30 beads. Penis small. Dorsal surface of mantle with few granular paplllae; few, scattered, larger paplllae on head; area around eyes pustulate, with single, large, multifid, supraocular cirrus above and slightly posterior to eye. Surfaces of arms covered with small, round granules that also surround suckers. Color in preservation (ethanol) dark grey, almost black on dorsum and outer surface of arms. Ventral surface of mantle and oral surface of arms pale.

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION.—Hoyle, 1885:226.

TYPE LOCALITY.—Western South Pacific Ocean, Fiji, Kandavu, on reefs.

TYPE.—Holotype: BMNH 89.4.24.24, male, 15 mm ML, poor condition.

DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from the type locality.

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bibliographic citation: Voss, N. A. and Sweeney, M. J. 1998. "Systematics and Biogeography of cephalopods. Volume II." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 277-599. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.586.277

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Octopus vitiensis

provided by wikipedia EN

Octopus vitiensis, or the bighead octopus,^[1] is a species of octopus^[2] provisionally placed in the genus Octopus.^[3] It was described by William Evans Hoyle in 1885^[4] based on a specimen found in reefs in Kandavu, Fiji^[3] during a voyage of the HMS Challenger.^[5]

Description

O. vitiensis is maroon to dark purple-black in color.^[6] It has large eyes, a broad head, and arms of moderate length.^[7] The species is described as robust^[6] and muscular^[7] with scattered warts on the skin.^[5] O. vitiensis is small,^[8] and has a mantle length of up to 60 millimeters and a total length of up to 250 millimeters.^[3]

Distribution

O. vitiensis is tropical,^[9] found in Fiji, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea;^[3] and benthic,^[9] found at depths of zero to 20 meters.^[3]

Life cycle

O. vitiensis lays eggs two millimeters in length.^[10]

References

^ Cole, Theodor C. H. (2017), Cole, Theodor C. H. (ed.), "IX. Mollusca: Cephalopoda – Kopffüßer – Cephalopods", Wörterbuch der Wirbellosen / Dictionary of Invertebrates: Latein-Deutsch-Englisch (in German), Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 157–163, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-52869-3_9, ISBN 978-3-662-52869-3, retrieved 2023-03-15
^ "Octopus vitiensis Hoyle, 1885". World Register of Marine Species. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Norman, M. D.; Finn, J. K.; Hochberg, F. G. (2016). "Family Octopodidae". In Jereb, Patrizia; Roper, Clyde F. E.; Norman, Mark D.; Finn, Julian K. (eds.). Cephalopods of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cephalopod Species Known to Date. Vol. 3: Octopods and Vampire Squids. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 215. ISBN 978-92-5-107989-8.
'^ Hoyle, William E. (1885). "XIX.—Diagnoses of new species of Cephalopoda collected during the cruise of H.M.S. 'Challenger.—Part I. The Octopoda". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 15 (87): 222–236. doi:10.1080/00222938509459320. ISSN 0374-5481.
^ ^a ^b Thomson, C. Wyville; Murray, John; Nares, George S.; Thomson, Frank Tourle (1886). Report on the scientific results of the voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76 under the command of Captain George S. Nares and the late Captain Frank Tourle Thomson, R.N. Edinburgh, UK: H.M. Stationery Office.
^ ^a ^b Huffard, Christine L. (2007). "Four new species of shallow water pygmy octopus (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) from the Kingdom of Tonga". Molluscan Research. 27 (3): 147–170.
^ ^a ^b Ward, Linda A. (2003). "The cephalopods of Guam". Micronesia. 35–36: 294–302.
^ Voight, Janet R. (1998). "An Overview of Shallow-Water Octopus Biogeography". In Voss, Nancy A.; Vecchione, Michael; Toll, Ronald B.; Sweeney, Michael J. (eds.). Systematics and Biogeography of Cephalopods (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. Vol. II. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
^ ^a ^b "Octopus vitiensis, Bighead octopus". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
^ Villanueva, Roger; Norman, Mark D. (2008). "Biology of the Planktonic Stages of Benthic Octopuses". Oceanography and Marine Biology. 46: 105–202.

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Octopus vitiensis: Brief Summary