this thread has been posted out of curiosity and confusion. I know how to tell a bimaculoides from a bimaculatus. and a merc would stick out like a sore tentacle in a crowd of joubinis, but the one spiecies that has me stumped is vulgaris and well... everything else. octopus aculatus (forgive me if i messed that name up) is especially confusing.

also, what is the difference between a mimic and a wonderpus?

this thread has been posted out of curiosity and confusion. I know how to tell a bimaculoides from a bimaculatus. and a merc would stick out like a sore tentacle in a crowd of joubinis, but the one spiecies that has me stumped is vulgaris and well... everything else. octopus aculatus (forgive me if i messed that name up) is especially confusing.

also, what is the difference between a mimic and a wonderpus?

Mucktopus has a page describing how to tell wunderpus vs mimic: http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~chuffard/index_files/WunderMimic.htm

I'm haven't seen enough pics of vulgaris to consistently recognize them, but aculeatus often has a lot of textured papillae that look like seaweed, and has a more oblong mantle than most other octo species. I'm not sure any of those are "diagnostic," though, probably Mucktopus and Roy have a lot more specific things to say, since they've studied aculeatus extensively.