Blue-ringed Octopus (species: Hapalochlaena sp.) in Lizard Island area: all known taxa (Lizard Island Field Guide)
Lizard Island area: all known taxa > Animalia > Mollusca > Cephalopoda > Coleoidea > Octopoda > Octopodidae > Hapalochlaena > Hapalochlaena sp. (gallery)
Hapalochlaena sp.
Blue-ringed Octopus


©Roy Caldwell: Hapalochlaena sp. from Lizard Island (lab photo)

©Roy Caldwell: Hapalochlaena sp. with crustacean prey, from Lizard Island. This photo appears in Reid (2016) incorrectly labelled as Hapalochlaena maculosa.

show or add records

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Order Octopoda
Family Octopodidae
Genus Hapalochlaena
Species Hapalochlaena sp.

Show in taxonomy
Lizard Island Field Guide
Lizard Island area: all known taxa

Colours

                   

Distinguishing features

This is the only octopus known from the Lizard Island area that has small bright blue rings on the body and arms. It is small (arms to 7 cm long) and has a functional ink sac (Norman, 2000). Females lay large eggs that hatch demersal juveniles without going through a planktonic stage (Roy Caldwell, pers. comm., 2015).

Size

  • Size data has not been obtained.

Synonyms

Similar taxa

  • Animalia: species: Hapalochlaena fasciata
    is a valid species found in southeastern Australia. Its record from Lizard Island by Roper and Hochberg (1988) is likely to be incorrect.
  • Animalia: species: Hapalochlaena maculosa
    is a valid species found in southern Australia. Records of it from Lizard Island are based on misidentifications by Roper and Hochberg (1986, 1988) according to Roy Caldwell (pers. comm.)

Comments

At Lizard Island, Roy Caldwell has found this species in rubble and bivalve shells at Cobia Hole, on algae in Watson's Bay and around the base of patch reefs.

by Anne Hoggett

This is the species referred to by Norman (2000) as Hapalochlaena sp 5.

by Anne Hoggett

Web resources

Danger

  • unspecified - All members of this genus have strong salivary toxins. Some species, including the Southern Blue-lined Octopus (Hapalochlaena fasciata, found in southeast Australia) have caused human fatalities (Norman, 2000). The Lizard Island species should also be regarded as dangerous.

References

References that assist with identification

  • Norman, M. (2000). Cephalopods: A world guide ConchBooks, Hackenheim, Germany.
  • Reid, A. (2016). Cephalopods of Australia and Sub-Antarctic Territories CSIRO, Clayton, Vic., Australia.

Other references

  • Huffard, C.L., N. Saarman, H. Hamilton and W.B. Simpson (2010). The evolution of conspicuous facultative mimicry in octopuses: an example of secondary adaptation? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 101: 68-77. LIRS catalog number 1359.
  • View all references