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Mollusca
Octopus vulgaris
EOL Text
These animals have a life span of 12 to 24 months.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Octopus_vulgaris/ |
The cephalopods (meaning 'head-footed) are a group of molluscs that contain the octopuses, squid and cuttlefish, and are probably the most intelligent of all invertebrates. They have well-developed heads, with large complex eyes and mouths that feature beak-like jaws. All octopuses have eight tentacle-like arms; indeed 'octopus' derives from the Greek for 'eight-footed' (3). The common octopus usually measures around 60 centimetres in length, but it can grow up to 1 metre (2). It is able to change its colour depending on its mood and situation, but individuals are usually greyish-yellow or brownish-green with extensive mottling. They are often very well camouflaged (2). The body is warty, and the thick arms bear two rows of suckers (4).
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Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/common-octopus/octopus-vulgaris/ |
Octopus vulgaris has individuals of both sexes. During mating, the male approaches the female, who fends him off for a while, but then accepts him. He sits next to her or mounts her, inserting the hectocotylus in her mantle cavity to pass the spermatophores. They may copulate for several hours. The same pair often repeat mating over a period of a week or so, but a male copulates with other females and a female accepts other males. Mating often occurs when the females are immature. Only females ready to lay eggs consistently fend off the males.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Females become restless and search for a sheltered place where they can lay and brood the eggs without disturbance. The spermatophores are placed in the oviducts and empty cases are discarded. Fertilization takes place in the oviductal glands as the mature eggs pass through them on thir way out of the oviducts. Two secretions from the oviductal glands, together with the mucus, are used to stick the egg stalks together in strings and attach these to a substrate. Eggs are laid in shallow water. They are always attached to a substrate. On rocky shores, females find a hole, a crevice or sheltered place and they often protect their homes with shells, stones and other solid objects that they gather. Coral reefs provide suitable shelter. On sandy or muddy bottom, eggs are laid in empty mollusc shells or in man-made objects such as cans, tins, bottles, tires, boots, and amphorae . In tropical and subtropical waters, eggs are laid throughout the year. The total number of eggs laid by a female varies from 100,000 to 500,000. During egg laying and subsequent brooding, the female rarely leaves the egg mass. She usually does not feed during the entire period of spawning and brooding, which can be as long as 4-5 months at low temperatures. Egg care includes cleaning the eggs with the arm tips and directing jets of water from the funnel through the strings. Intruders, including potential prey, are pushed away, although crabs left overnight may occasionally be eaten. As a rule, females die shortly after the hatching of the last embryos after losing one-third of their pre-spawning weight.
Range number of offspring: 100000 to 500000.
Key Reproductive Features: semelparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Octopus_vulgaris/ |
A medium to large sized octopus reaching up to 1.3 meters in length, with a distinctly warty body.
The arms are thick and stout bearing two rows of longitudinal suckers.
The colour varies from grey-yellow-brown-green and can change according to the situation.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1998-2011, The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
Source | http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3937 |
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 33 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Western Atlantic: Occurs primarily south of Cape Hatteras, but it is distributed as far north as Connecticut.
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Source | http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140605 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 67
Specimens with Barcodes: 193
Species With Barcodes: 1
circum-global
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Rights holder/Author | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License |
Source | http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140605 |
Genomic DNA is available from 3 specimens with morphological vouchers housed at Australian Museum, Sydney
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Rights holder/Author | Text can be freely copied and altered, as long as original author and source are properly acknowledged. |
Source | http://www.oglf.org/catalog/details.php?id=T00083 |
This species has a world-wide distribution. It is abundant in the Mediterranean Sea, the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, and in Japanese waters.
Biogeographic Regions: indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Octopus_vulgaris/ |