Octopus Maya

Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
1,740
Per D's request, I am starting this thread as a collaboration of information on O. Maya. Anyone with any tid bits of info please post. I will be doing some research on my off time to locate some articles to post as well. Please note that some may be in Spanish.
 
Just a quick up date, I've spoken with my friend and he's going to speak with the people doing the breeding program in the Yucatan to see if they are willing to share their research.
 
Species Description

I found a PDF with the species description for Octopus Maya :biggrin2:

OCTOPUS MAY A, A NEW SPECIES FROM THE BAY OF CAMPECHE, MEXICO (full PDF)
GILBERT L. VOSS Institute of Marine Science, University of Miami
AND
MANUEL SOLtS RAMIREZ lnstituto Nacional de Investigaciones Biol6gico-Pesqueras
Estaci6n de Biologia Pesquera de Campeche, Mexico

Here is the abstract, the pdf has the full description:

ABSTRACT
A new species of occllated octopus, Octopus maya, is described from
nine specimens collected in the Bay of Campeche. The species, known
only from the bay, was taken during a survey of the octopus fisheries and
is the second described species of ocellated octopus from the Atlantic
Ocean. It is characterized by a large double-ringed ocellus, large eggs
attaining a length of 17 mm, and, in the male, a minute ligula. It is compared
with other ocellated species from the Pacific and Indian oceans. A
key to the eight species of shallow water octopus of the tropical Western
Atlantic Ocean is included.
 
Laboratory maintenance, breeding, rearing, and biomedical research potential of the Yucatan octopus (Octopus maya).
Van Heukelem WF. 1977

Abstract
Eggs of the Yucatan octopus, Octopus maya, were collected at Campeche, Mexico, transported to Hawaii, and incubated in glass funnels. Benthic juveniles hatched from the large (17-mm) eggs and were reared on a variety of live and frozen foods. As many as 200 animals were reared for the first month in a 20-liter aquarium. No disease or parasite problems were encountered and nearly all well-fed juveniles survived to sexual maturity. The species was reared through four generations in the laboratory. Animals weighed 0.1 g at hatching and within 8.5 months attained an average weight of 3231 g. Mating was promiscuous and sperm were stored in the oviducts until spawning. Spawning occurred at 8-9 months of age. Up to 5,000 eggs were laid by large females and nearly 100% of fertilized eggs developed to hatching. Females brooded eggs during the 45-day period of development but artificial was as successful as natural incubation by the mother. Pos-reproductive senescent decline of both males and females was rapid and average life span was 300 days from hatching. Areas of biomedical research in which O maya could be a useful model were suggested and included neurobiology, comparative psychology, ontogeny of behavior, immunology, endocrinology, and studies of aging.
 
Seasonal and spatial trends of Mayan octopus, Octopus maya, population dynamics from Campeche, Mexico
Unai Markaida, Iván Méndez-Loeza, Martha Laura Rosales-Raya 2016 (subscription Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK)

Abstract
High plasticity in cephalopod populations shows dramatic changes in their biological traits. Commercial catches of Mayan octopus (Octopus maya) in six localities of the state of Campeche, Mexico, were sampled monthly for five consecutive fishing seasons (2005–2009) in order to describe variations in population structure and maturation.Octopus maya grows and matures during the fishing season, from August to December. Spent individuals predominate in January and February, revealing a year-long life cycle. However, the presence of a few spent females in all months sampled suggests that a small part of the population shows an extended spawning period. Overall sex ratios did not significantly shift from the expected 1:1 in most samples. Males are mostly mature while the majority of females are immature during the season. Use of illegal fishing gears (spear diving or pots) in central localities accounts for a larger share in mature females. Octopus size showed large interannual and geographic differences. Females mature at a larger size (1024 g body weight, BW; 124 mm mantle length, ML) than males (484 g BW; 91 mm ML). Size at maturity in both sexes varies more between seasons than between localities. Female ML at maturity is larger than the current minimum legal size and implications for current octopus fishing regulations are discussed.
 

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