vulgaris is an important step towards improving sustainable fisheries management policies for each species in this group of commercially valuable octopuses. sinensis) are highly vulnerable to overfishing, so recognizing O. vulgaris and the East Asian species here identified as O.

Distribution: Found in the Mediterranean and in the warmer waters of the Atlantic. At present, all species in this complex (particularly O. Common Octopus Scientific name: Octopus vulgaris Size: Maximum mantle length of 20 30cm and arm-span of around one metre. vulgaris) in a monograph on Japanese Cephalopoda published in 1929. Voucher material includes specimens collected in Japan by Philipp Franz von Siebold and deposited in the National Museum of Natural History - Naturalis - in Leiden and others that were studied by Madoka Sasaki in preparation for the detailed description of this species (as O. vulgaris is identified as a valid species: Octopus sinensis d'Orbigny, 1841. vulgaris, and as a suitable name for it a former junior synonym of O. Eight sinewy arms studded with powerful suction cups give octopuses an iron grip.

Here, a diagnosis and brief description are provided which distinguish the East Asian common octopus from O. Suckers on the arms of a common octopus, Octopus vulgaris. However, evidence from molecular genetic studies has firmly established that the so-called cosmopolitan common octopus is in fact a group of several biogeographically distinct populations which form a complex of species with closely similar morphology. The East Asian common octopus has long been synonymized with the Atlantic and Mediterranean species Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797.

Common octopus