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Please help to identify my Octopus?

Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
67
I've had "Ocho" for about 3 weeks and still trying to figure out what species she is. I first thought Aculeatus because of the longer legs (20-25cm) compared to the mantle (5-6cm). Also, the stripe that I can occasionally see running from between her eyes down the center to the front of the mantle which I've seen in pictures of Aculeatus. But the thing is, Aculeatus is diurnal and Ocho is totally nocturnal. So I've been leaning toward Briareus because she's never out during the day. But I thought Briareus had more webbing at the base of the legs and Ocho has no webbing, just long legs. I was also thinking maybe O. Bocki because they are also extremely nocturnal and similar looking, but may be a little big to be a Bocki but not sure. Resting color is brown which is pretty common among a few species but also speckled with "Glow in the dark" green color. This is the best description I can give for now and sorry the picture isn't the greatest, but it was with my camera phone this morning about 4:45am. I wake up early for work and turned on the front room light and caught her munching on one of the little shore crabs I catch for her. Any help in identifying her would be greatly appreciated!

Paul
 

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White dots on red suggest O. macropus species complex... maybe? Are those white spots on the arms? Can't really see. Where did you get her?

Joey
 
The spots are neon green (but are not always showing). I got her in Castro Valley and I showed up just after the shipment arrived and she was still in the shipping bag. They identified her as "the one with the purple head."
 
I agree with jc45 that this is one of the octopuses in the macropus group. Some of the species in this group have a rich layer of reflective cells in the the skin, making the spots look greenish iridescent. Does it get white spots on the mantle too? If the shop can find out where it's from that will help with the ID (also check Norman's cephalopods of the world guide if you can), but I imagine several of those species would need the same care. An ID will however help you to tell how big it may get. Some get quite large for a tank animal. Several species eat clams, although crabs should be fine too- it's clearly eating them. The species I've come across in the wild have returned to (or come up from) holes in sand and rubble, rather than dens in a solid structure (such as a bottle or rock).
 
Ocho does not have white spots on the mantle and only occasionally shows spots on the legs like in the picture. She has also never shown the "spikey" texture that I've seen in Macropus. Actually, the texture never changes from the smooth skin to any kind of rough texture. Her normal calm color is a light brown to olive color. From what I understand, Macropus will obtain a mantle length of 15cm. About 6 years ago I had one of these "Ocho" species (which I couldn't really identify then either) and it's mantle never got bigger than about 6cm. Here is a video of the old "Ocho" eating a crab. Maybe this will help to ID. Thanks for any and all help.

Paul
 

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