Octopus australis
A medium-sized octopus with a male reproductive arm.
Last updated
A. Pollock · via Wikipedia: Octopus australis · Public domain
Octopus australis, commonly known as the hammer octopus or southern octopus, is a species of octopus first described by William Evans Hoyle in 1885 based on a specimen from Port Jackson in New South Wales. It is notable for the modified arm possessed by males, which is used in reproduction and gives the species its common name.
Scientific classification
- OrderOctopoda
- FamilyOctopodidae
- GenusOctopus
- SpeciesOctopus australis
Named by Hoyle, 1885
Close relatives
Other species of Octopus with a Codexery entry.
- Octopus bocki Octopus bocki
- Octopus chierchiae Octopus chierchiae
- Octopus cyanea Octopus cyanea
- Octopus mimus Octopus mimus
- Octopus minor Octopus minor
- Octopus pallidus Octopus pallidus
- Octopus sinensis Octopus sinensis
- Octopus tetricus Octopus tetricus
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Octopus australis (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 341948 (CC BY 4.0)
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
- LC▲ this species
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
Where the octopus australis has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (183 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 17 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Background
Octopus australis was first described by William Evans Hoyle in 1885, based on a specimen found in Port Jackson in New South Wales. It is medium-sized, with males having a mature mantle length of around 20 to 25 millimeters and females 50 to 60 millimeters, an arm span of around 40 centimeters, and a maximum total length of 49.9 centimeters. Males weigh around 210 grams and females around 105 grams. The head is narrow and egg-shaped with small eyes, and it is typically a sandy cream color.
The species is found in coastal waters and bays along the eastern coast of Australia from central Queensland to southern New South Wales, most commonly in subtropical inshore waters, at depths of around 3 to 140 meters. It tends to live on sand or mud seafloors, among sponges, ascidians, or mollusks, or in seagrass. Its diet is mostly composed of isopods, but also includes other crustaceans, other octopuses, bristle worms, gastropods, and bivalves. It usually forages at night and hides in trash, shells, or the seafloor during the day.
Females lay around 50 to 130 eggs per brood, each about 11 millimeters long, normally in the summer. Eggs take over 100 days to hatch. The estimated lifespan is 18 to 20 months.
More in Reef Cephalopods
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Octopus australis (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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