species: Octopus bocki cf. in Lizard Island area: all known taxa (Lizard Island Field Guide)
Lizard Island area: all known taxa > Animalia > Mollusca > Cephalopoda > Coleoidea > Octopoda > Octopodidae > Octopus > Octopus bocki cf. (gallery)
Octopus bocki cf.


©Roy Caldwell: A specimen of Octopus bocki cf. from Lizard Island.

©Roy Caldwell: Octopus bocki cf. from rubble at the lagoon entrance, Lizard Island.

show or add records

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Order Octopoda
Family Octopodidae
Genus Octopus
Species Octopus bocki cf.

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

Colours

              

Distinguishing features

A small octopus with arms up to 8 cm long.

Size

  • Up to 2.5 cm (Body)
  • Up to 8 cm (Arm length)

Synonyms

Comments

Norman (2000) and Reid (2016) list this species as "Octopus cf bocki", meaning similar to that species. Lizard Island specimens are similar in size and in many other respects to O. bocki but it has different colour patterns and suckers, and a much more restricted distribution - O. bocki is found in Fiji and the Philippines. It remains to be determined whether the Lizard Island specimens are actually O. bocki or not.

by Anne Hoggett

Distribution

Local abundance

  • Lizard Island: Found commonly on the forereef in front of Bird Islet and sometimes on the reef flat (Roy Caldwell, pers. comm, 2015).

Web resources

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.