Cited by 110Cephalopods and Marine BiologyMarine Biology and Ecology ResearchInvertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology

Morphological assessment of the Octopus vulgaris species complex evaluated in light of molecular‐based phylogenetic inferences

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Amor, Michael D., Norman, Mark D., Roura, Alvaro, Leite, Tatiana S., Gleadall, Ian G., Reid, Amanda, Perales‐Raya, Catalina, Lu, Chung‐Cheng +5 more·2017·Zoologica Scripta

Abstract

Cryptic species are common in the ocean, particularly among marine invertebrates such as octopuses. Delineating cryptic species is particularly problematic in octopus taxonomy where the plasticity recorded among taxonomic characters often results in low resolution at the species level. This study investigated the morphological relationships among seven phylogenetic clades (identified using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) of the broadly distributed Octopus vulgaris species complex and close relatives. Morphological analyses in this study were successful in delimiting O. sinensis, Brazilian O. vulgaris and O. vulgaris sensu stricto, which was congruent with the molecular findings of this study. Analyses based on male morphology were successful in distinguishing 14 of 15 total pairwise comparisons and proved to be a more reliable indicator of species‐level relationships in comparison with female morphology. The majority of characters with the greatest discriminatory power were male sexual traits. Significant morphological differences were also recorded among sampling localities of conspecifics, with phenotype showing correlation with local environmental data. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that multiple O. vulgaris‐like species are currently being incorrectly treated under a single species name, O. vulgaris. Octopuses being exported globally under the name O. vulgaris are of extremely high fisheries market value and profile. Our findings have potentially significant implications for the naming and conservation of commercially harvested members of this species complex throughout their ranges.

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Authors
Amor, M. D., Norman, M. D., Roura, A., Leite, T. S., Gleadall, I. G., Reid, A., Perales‐Raya, C., Lu, C., Silvey, C. J., Vidal, E. A. G., Hochberg, F. G., Zheng, X., & Strugnell, J. M.
Affiliations
  • La Trobe University (AU)
  • Museums Victoria (AU)
  • Department of Ecology Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Kingsbury Drive Melbourne Vic. 3086 Australia
  • Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR)
  • Tohoku University (JP)
  • Australian Museum (AU)
  • Instituto Español de Oceanografía Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias. Vía Espaldón Dársena Pesquera PCL8 38180 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Spain
  • National Chung Hsing University (TW)
  • Centro de Estudos do Mar Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) Pontal do Paraná 83255‐976 Brazil
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (US)
  • Ocean University of China (CN)
Corresponding author
Amor, Michael D.
Venue
Zoologica Scripta
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-09-20
Volume
46
Issue
3
Pages
275-288
ISSN
  • 0300-3256 (ISSN-L)
  • 1463-6409
OpenAlex
W2523672568
Cited by
107
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
FWCI
11.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Zoologica Scripta (publishedVersion)
  • ResearchOnline - JCU (James Cook University) (submittedVersion)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Japan Science and Technology Agency (J130000263)
  • Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (559863/2008‐0, 481491/2013‐9)
  • Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (043/2013)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Cephalopods and Marine Biology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Biology and Ecology Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Invertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology
Keywords
cryptic species, octopus taxonomy, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, octopus fisheries, conservation

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