Abstract
The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797) is one of the most widely distributed species belonging to the genus Octopus as well as an important commercially harvested species and a model organism for behavioral biology of invertebrates. It has been described for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea but it is considered a cosmopolitan species inhabiting the temperate and tropical sea of the northern and southern hemispheres. In the last few years, several species previously considered as O. vulgaris have been recognized as new species, limiting the distributional range of “vulgaris” and reinforcing the thesis of a species complex. Where it is an important fishery resource, numerous studies have been conducted in order to define its genetic structure with the purpose of managing different stocks. However, many locations are still poorly investigated from this point of view and others are under taxonomic revision to exclude or confirm its occurrence. Here we provide a summary of the current status of knowledge on distribution and genetic structure in this species in the different oceanic regions.
Highlights
The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797) is one of the most widely distributed species belonging to the genus Octopus as well as an important commercially harvested species and a model organism for behavioral biology of invertebrates
This review aimed to provide a general picture of the distribution and genetic structure in Octopus vulgaris on a global scale, highlighting pitfalls and clues, which could represent the basis for following investigations
Few data support the occurrence of O. vulgaris in several regions and they are quite doubtful and controversial, making the range hypothesized by Mangold closer to the reality in respect to the one by Roper et al (Figure 1)
Summary
Reviewed by: Miguel Arenas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain Athanasios Exadactylos, University of Thessaly, Greece Octavio Salgueiro Paulo, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797) is one of the most widely distributed species belonging to the genus Octopus as well as an important commercially harvested species and a model organism for behavioral biology of invertebrates It has been described for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea but it is considered a cosmopolitan species inhabiting the temperate and tropical seas of the northern and southern hemispheres. In the last few years, several species previously considered as O. vulgaris have been recognized as new species, limiting the distributional range of “vulgaris” and reinforcing the thesis of a species complex Where it is an important fishery resource, numerous studies have been conducted in order to define its genetic structure with the purpose of managing different stocks. As outlined by Allcock et al (2014), more analysis including more specimens and multiple genes should be performed
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