Hey all,

Got myself this critter about a month ago. I think it lies somewhere in the O. horridus "complex" (as M. Norman put it in his book).

It came in to a LFS hiding in the shell (of all things) of a Tridacnid maxima clam. It came from (tropical) Western Australia. Its (strictly) nocturnal, body of about 3cm (1"), very timid.

In the bag he was mainly the colour below but flashed black.
http://sfinn.cust.internode.on.net/finno/Reef/Octopus/occy20070123-2.jpg

Other pics I have gotten - feeding (very hard to make it out sorry for the quality.

http://sfinn.cust.internode.on.net/finno/Reef/Octopus/occy20060126-feeding.jpg

http://sfinn.cust.internode.on.net/finno/Reef/Octopus/occy20070219.jpg

http://sfinn.cust.internode.on.net/finno/Reef/Octopus/occy20070219-with-annotatio.jpg

In the "warning signal" patterns you can see the contrasting flaps of skin that look like detritus/weed/some sort of snail web.

Stabs in the dark welcome, as thats pretty much what all my efforts to date have been.

Not a clue But I am very interested to find out. Any other oceans and I might be a help but that extends beyond my territory. (For Now) Good Luck Keep us posted!!

heheh glad you're open to stabs in the dark!
the single stripe pattern and the bumps looking like weeds are generally traits of the Abdopus Aculeatus. Aculeatus especially have a knack for mimicking algae. 1 inch is pretty small, so that would make him/her a juvenile.....A. Aculeatus is native to Indonesia and Australia, so it is very possible....just a thought. :grin:

Thanks for the responses guys. In Cephalopods A world Guide Mark lists the follwing in the O. horridus 'complex' :

O. abaculus
O. aculeatus
O. capricornus
and 3 other uncategorised species.

I am glad someone else thinks at least we are in the same ball park.

As to juvenile status, its still hard to tell, it hasnt noticeably grown in a month (very well fed believe me). Octopus aculeatus is listed as growing to 6cm, Octopus abaculus grows to 3 cm. This may well be a similarly uncategorised (or even undescribed) species. Will persist on the good photo front, see what I can dig up.

Any further guesses much appreciated. :cheers:

it already sounds like you're on the right track. I'm not sure you're going to narrow it down much more than you already have! If he's not growing, you are probably right, O. Abaculus.