Callistoctopus Explained

Callistoctopus is a genus of nocturnal, orange octopuses in the family Octopodidae.^[1] They are readily identifiable by their reddish coloring, the white papillae that line their bodies, and their long arms. Though sympatric with diurnal Octopus species, they avoid competition by hunting at night. In acknowledgement of this preference, many species of Callistoctopus are referred to as night octopuses. Well-known species include C. macropus (Atlantic white-spotted octopus) and the type species C. ornatus (ornate octopus), both of which are harvested for human consumption as seafood.

Species

• Callistoctopus alpheus (Norman, 1993) – Capricorn night octopus^[2]
• Callistoctopus aspilosomatis (Norman, 1993) – plainbody night octopus^[3]
• Callistoctopus bunurong (Stranks, 1990) – southern white-spot octopus
• Callistoctopus dierythraeus (Norman, 1992) – red-spot night octopus
• Callistoctopus graptus (Norman, 1992) – scribbled night octopus
• Callistoctopus lechenaultii (d'Orbigny, 1826)
• Callistoctopus luteus (Sasaki, 1929) – starry night octopus ^[4]
• Callistoctopus macropus (Risso, 1826) – Atlantic white-spotted octopus^[5]
• Callistoctopus nocturnus (Norman & Sweeney, 1997)
• Callistoctopus ornatus (Gould, 1852) – ornate octopus^[6]
• Callistoctopus rapanui (Voss, 1979)

Species brought into synonymy:

• Callistoctopus arakawai (Taki, 1964): synonym of Callistoctopus ornatus (Gould, 1852)
• Callistoctopus magnocellatus (Taki, 1964): synonym of Octopus cyanea Gray, 1849

Taxa inquirenda

• Callistoctopus furvus (Gould, 1852): potential name for West Atlantic octopuses currently under C. macropus
• Callistoctopus taprobanensis (Robson, 1926)

References

• Taki, I. (1964), On eleven new species of the Cephalopoda from Japan, including two new genera of the Octopodinae; Journal of the Faculty of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Hiroshima University, 5 (2) 297-343

Notes and References

1. Marshall, B.; Bouchet, P. (2014). Callistoctopus Iw. Taki, 1964. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=534103 on 2015-02-02
2. Atlas of Living Australia website at http://www.ala.org.au. Accessed 13 January 2019.
3. Book: Reid, Amanda . Cephalopods of Australia and Sub-Antarctic Territories . July 1, 2016. CSIRO Publishing . 978-1-4863-0393-9 .
4. MarineBio Conservation Society. Web. Accessed 1/13/2019. .
5. Bouchet, P. (2014). Callistoctopus macropus (Risso, 1826). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=534558 on 2015-02-01
6. "ORNATE OCTOPUS (Octopus ornatus)". Lord Howe Island Museum. https://www.lhimuseum.com/species/view/164 Accessed on 13 January, 2019.