New octo ID. I'm stumped.

Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
14
So this little guy has me stumped. We got him in from LA a couple of days ago. No idea where he came from. Sorry for the cruddy pics but he's small. That is a critter keeper lid for size comparison. The marks above each eye are the only real feature I can make out. They are a baby blue normally. There are no eyespots that I can see. Any ideas?

Thanks
Brandon
 

Attachments

  • conv_304296.jpg
    conv_304296.jpg
    41.5 KB · Views: 137
  • conv_304297.jpg
    conv_304297.jpg
    55.7 KB · Views: 132
Definitely not aculeatus. I've had several of those. Aculeatus don't have these marks above their eyes. I'm a manager at a LFS and it came from a wholesale facility in LA. I normally don't order my octos that way but had reason to this time. It, of course, was labeled as a "common brown". I'll try and get some better shots of it tonight or tomorrow. Seems to be more nocturnal.

Brandon
 
Upvote 0
Unfortunately, as CaptFish mentions, the photos don't help other than possibly to show a red coloration. I was about to ask if it was noctural because we have only seen two species from LA (that I can remember) and the nocturnal red one has been some form of macropus (Diver's Den has had other though and Maya was hummelincki). Look at Puddles thread and see if it looks similar. You should see green fluorescent dot on it at times and a really striking red when annoyed. I have had two (Puddles is from LA) of this species (but don't know what it is, I believe the dive community lables them luteus but they don't fit Norman's description. I do believe they are quite common in Indonesia) and they are extremely human friendly ... at 3:00 AM.
 
Upvote 0
Sorry, I missed the "baby blue marks above the eye". I saw the marks but just assumed camera flash. If those are always there then you have something new for us to find I think. We have noticed that hatchling briareus (this is not briareus) have a blue circle around their eyes that goes away after a few months but it is not a stripe like your mystery animal. Please DO get more photos!

Can you estimate the mantle to arm ratio?

Do you have a copy of Norman's Cephalopods, A World Guide? If so, look up Octopus ornatus on page 252. I am probably trying to see this stipe pattern where it is only hinted at in the photos though.

Oh, and do you ship?
 
Upvote 0
I can definitely ship. Arms are probably 1" now. Mantle is probably 3/4"-1". I'm at home now and it didn't show it's face at all today. I'll get it into a smaller container in the morning and see about some better pics and measurements.
 
Upvote 0
If shipping is not a problem, posting an octo on our availability thread would be welcomed when you have one available. You get brownie points for a photo and extra for an id :biggrin2: We are constantly looking for new suppliers, especially after crab season.

With arms that short I am guessing it is under 5 months old (going by the arm length on my two briareus hatchlings and my young hummelincki). I would have guessed the octo to have been larger from the photo and still wonder about 1", 1:1 ratio for the arm length. As you can see in my photo, even this very small hummelincki (I think - this species is most peculiar) shows close to an adult mantle to arm ratio of 1:2.5. One of the things we have found useful for reference is to put either a ruler or a coin under a clear container holding the octopus.

I hope this one is still in the critter keeper when you go back to the shop. Small octos have been known to escape critter keepers very easily. I know of one about half that size that recently escaped very small holes poked in a plastic bottle, never to be seen again. The critter keeper grid will likely pose no barrier, as Animal Mother discovered with Kalypso (fortunately Kalypso escaped into his tank but went unobserved for several weeks).
 
Upvote 0
The octo has been in this keeper for a few days now with no escapes. If it does, it will be in a 29 gallon with a couple of small fish. No big deal to find it in there.

Here are some more pictures. It's actually quite a bit bigger than what I was thinking. You can see the quarter as a size comparison. Also, I noticed very little "webbing" between arms. My aculeatus had quite a bit of tissue and this one has almost none.

Brandon
 

Attachments

  • conv_296921.jpg
    conv_296921.jpg
    84.3 KB · Views: 139
  • conv_296920.jpg
    conv_296920.jpg
    50.2 KB · Views: 121
  • conv_296919.jpg
    conv_296919.jpg
    66.7 KB · Views: 129
  • conv_296918.jpg
    conv_296918.jpg
    69.3 KB · Views: 143
Upvote 0
No. Called the wholesaler and they said "probably Indo-Pacific" but who knows. It was a salesman. I couldn't get the guy who does the ordering on the phone yet. If I can, maybe he'll know. I'm on the way to the CRAZE conference so it'll be Monday before I can call them again.
 
Upvote 0

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top