Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

A medium to large sized octopus reaching up to 1.3 meters in length, with a distinctly warty body.
The arms are thick and stout bearing two rows of longitudinal suckers.
The colour varies from grey-yellow-brown-green and can change according to the situation.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Reaches its north-eastern limit in south-western Britain and the western English Channel.

Global distribution

Worldwide in temperate and tropical waters.

Habitat

Found on rocky coasts, shallow sublittoral. Has adapted to live in very different habitats

Depth range

0-200m

Identifying features

  • Medium to large sized, body distinctly warty.
  • Arms stout of about equal length and thickness with two longitudinal rows of suckers, dorsal pair of arms slightly shorter.
  • Colour - variable, grey-yellow-brown-green according to situation.

Additional information

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Listed by

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Further information sources

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Bibliography

  1. Boyle, P.R. (ed.), 1983. Cephalopod Life Cycles, vol 1. Species Accounts. London: Academic Press Inc. (London) Ltd.

  2. Campbell, A., 1994. Seashores and shallow seas of Britain and Europe. London: Hamlyn.

  3. Guary, Jean-Claude & Fowler, Scott W., 1982. Experimental studies on the biokinetics of plutonium and americium in the Cephalopod Octopus vulgaris Marine Ecology Progress Series, 7, 327-335.

  4. Hanlon, R. T. & Messenger, J. B., 1996. Cephalopod Behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  5. Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.

  6. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  7. ICES, 1994. Report of the study group on the life history assessment of Cephalopods. Copenhagen-Denmark ICES, K:7, 32.

  8. Miramand, P. & Bentley, D., 1992. Concentration and distribution of heavy metals in tissues of two cephalopods, Eledone cirrhosa and Sepia officinalis, from the French coast of the English Channel. Marine Biology, 114, 407-414.

  9. Nixon, M. & Mangold, K., 1996. The early life of Octopus vulgaris (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the plankton and at settlement: a change in lifestyle Journal of the Zoological Society of London, 239, 301-327.

  10. Roper, C.F.E., Sweeney, M.J. & Nauen, C.E., 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 3. Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species of interest to fisheries. FAO Fisheries Synopsis, 125, 3, 277. Avaliable: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ac479e/ac479e00.htm

  11. Villanueva, R., 1995. Experimental rearing and growth of planktonic Octopus vulgaris from hatching to settlement Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 52, 2639-2650.

Datasets

  1. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2018. Mollusc (marine) data for Great Britain and Ireland - restricted access. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/4bsawx accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-09-25.

  2. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2023. Mollusc (marine) records for Great Britain and Ireland. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/aurwcz accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

  3. Environmental Records Information Centre North East, 2018. ERIC NE Combined dataset to 2017. Occurrence dataset: http://www.ericnortheast.org.ukl accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-38

  4. Lancashire Environment Record Network, 2018. LERN Records. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/esxc9a accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

  5. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  6. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2024. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2024-12-03

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Wilson, E. 2006. Octopus vulgaris Common octopus. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 03-12-2024]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1117

Last Updated: 06/11/2006