Bolitaena pygmaea   (Verrill, 1884)

Pygmy pelagic octopod

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Bolitaena pygmaea  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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drawing shows typical species in Bolitaenidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Cephalopoda | Octopoda | Bolitaenidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Pelagic; depth range 100 - 1400 m (Ref. 96968).  Subtropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Indo-Pacific, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. Subtropical to subtropical.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 11.5 cm ML male/unsexed; (Ref. 122436)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Depth range from 100 to 1,400 m. These small pelagic octopuses typically live over deeper water. Young animals tend to occur in the shallower end of the range. As members of this species reach sexual maturity the iridescence of the digestive gland and eyes is lost and animals migrate to deeper darker waters. Pigmentation greatly increases in females as they mature and the arms become relatively longer. Increased pigmentation may be associated with the need to mask output from the female's circumoral light organ. This light organ may be used for reproductive signalling to males. The posterior salivary glands of mature males are greatly enlarged and have been suggested to produce a chemical attractant for females (Ref. 96968).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Cephalopoda are gonochoric. Male and female adults usually die shortly after spawning and brooding, respectively. Mating behavior: Males perform various displays to attract potential females for copulation. During copulation, male grasp the female and inserts the hectocotylus into the female's mantle cavity where fertilization usually occurs. Life cycle: Embryos hatch into planktonic stage and live for some time before they grow larger and take up a benthic existence as adults.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Turgeon, D.D., J.F. Quinn Jr., A.E. Bogan, E.V. Coan, F.G. Hochberg, W.G. Lyons, P.M. Mikkelsen, R.J. Neves, C.F.E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F.G. Thompson, M. Vecchione and J.D. Willams. 1998. (Ref. 1667)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 20 August 2014

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses


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More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 6.2 - 15.5, mean 10.2 (based on 1461 cells).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.