Octopus californicus (commonly the North Pacific bigeye octopus or orange bigeye octopus)[2][3] is an octopus in the family Octopodidae.[4] It is provisionally assigned to the genus Octopus, but some scholars have concluded it belongs in other genera.[5][6] O. californicus was first documented by S. Stillman Berry in 1911.[7]

Octopus californicus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Octopodidae
Genus: Octopus
Species:
O. californicus
Binomial name
Octopus californicus
S. S. Berry, 1911
Synonyms

Polypus californicus[1]

Description

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Octopus californicus is medium-sized[8] and has a body up to 14 cm in diameter, with arms up to 30.5 cm in length;[9] it has a mantle length of around 140 millimeters[8] and maximum total length of 40 centimeters.[10] It is soft-skinned,[11] with large eyes, a rough body, and star shaped patches on the skin.[5] Its diet is composed of fish, shrimp, and crabs.[9]

Reproduction

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The eggs of O. californicus incubate for a maximum of ten months. They hatch looking like miniature adults, with no juvenile stage.[1] Females spawn around 100 to 500 eggs at once.[10]

Distribution

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Octopus californicus live in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, between Baja California and the Gulf of Alaska. The species has also been reported near Russia[8] and in the Sea of Japan.[11] They live between 100 and 900 meters, making them a deep sea species.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Khen, Adi; McCormick, Lillian R.; Steinke, Christine A.; Rouse, Greg W.; Zerofski, Phil J. (November 2022). "First known observations of brooding, development, and hatching of fertilized eggs for the North Pacific bigeye octopus, Octopus californicus". Ecology and Evolution. 12 (11). doi:10.1002/ece3.9481. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 9631326.
  2. ^ "Octopus californicus (Berry, 1911)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  3. ^ Switzer, Ryan D.; Parnell, P. Ed; Leichter, James L.; Driscoll, Neal W. (1999). "The effects of tectonic deformation and sediment allocation on shelf habitats and megabenthic distribution and diversity in southern California". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 169: 25–37. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2015.11.020. ISSN 0272-7714.
  4. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Octopus californicus (S. S. Berry, 1911)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  5. ^ a b Díaz-Santana-Iturrios, Mariana; Salinas-Zavala, César Augusto; García-Rodríguez, Francisco Javier; Granados-Amores, Jasmín (2019-11-29). "Taxonomic assessment of species of the genus Octopus from the northeastern Pacific via morphological, molecular and morphometric analyses". PeerJ. 7: e8118. doi:10.7717/peerj.8118. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 6886487. S2CID 208639451.
  6. ^ Ibáñez, Christian M.; Fenwick, Mark; Ritchie, Peter A.; Carrasco, Sergio A.; Pardo-Gandarillas, M. Cecilia (2020). "Systematics and Phylogenetic Relationships of New Zealand Benthic Octopuses (Cephalopoda: Octopodoidea)". Frontiers in Marine Science. 7. doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00182. ISSN 2296-7745.
  7. ^ Robson, G. C. (1929-07-27). A Monograph of the recent Cephalopoda based on the collections in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1: Octopodinae. London, UK: Trustees of the British Museum. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.106032. S2CID 4120182.
  8. ^ a b c Jereb, Patrizia; Roper, Clyde F. E.; Norman, Mark D.; Finn, Julian K., eds. (2016). Cephalopods of the world: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cephalopod Species Known to Date. Volume 3: Octopods and Vampire Squids (PDF). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 978-92-5-107989-8.
  9. ^ a b c "North Pacific bigeye octopus". Monterey Bay Aquarium. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  10. ^ a b Ormseth, Olav A.; Conners, M. Elizabeth (2017-11-01). "Assessment of the Octopus Stock Complex in the Gulf of Alaska". NOAA Institutional Repository. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  11. ^ a b Gillespie, G. E.; Parker, G.; Morrison, J. (1998). "A Review of Octopus Fisheries Biology and British Columbia Octopus Fisheries" (PDF). Fisheries and Oceans Canada Library. Retrieved 2022-11-21.