Octopus vitiensis

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 HMS Challenger.[5]

Octopus vitiensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Octopodidae
Genus: Octopus
Species:
O. vitiensis
Binomial name
Octopus vitiensis
Hoyle, 1885

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
  1. 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
  2. "Octopus vitiensis Hoyle, 1885". World Register of Marine Species. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Ward, Linda A. (2003). "The cephalopods of Guam". Micronesia. 35–36: 294–302.
  8. 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.
  9. "Octopus vitiensis, Bighead octopus". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  10. 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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