Star Sucker Pygmy Octopus

Octopus wolfi (Wülker, 1913)

DIAGNOSIS.—Animal small (30 mm TL). Mantle conical, broadest anteriorly (MWI 80); no neck constriction; head wider (HWI 85) than mantle. Funnel organ W-shaped. Arms short (ALI 66), subequal. Sucker size moderate, a few suckers at tip of each arm fringed with small papillae around outer periphery. Ligula short (LLI 10), with central longitudinal groove; calamus moderate to long in length (CLI 27); HASC 40, terminal 9 pairs of suckers fringed around outer periphery with short papillae. Web shallow (WDI 15). Gill lamellae 5, short, stout. Penis small, simple (PLI 15). Spermatophores small, slender. Dorsal and ventral surfaces of mantle covered with small, round granules. Supraocular papillae absent. Color in preservation (ethanol) violet red.

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION.—Wülker, 1913:458, pl. 23: fig. 3a,b.

TYPE LOCALITY.—South central Pacific Ocean, Society Islands, Tahiti, Popeete.

TYPE.—Holotype: SMF, male, 10 mm ML.

DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from the type locality.

Octopus wolfi, the star-sucker pygmy octopus, is the smallest known octopus. It is found in fairly shallow waters in the western Pacific. It is characterised by a pattern of "papillate fringes" around the edge of the suckers near the arm tip.

Its length is less than 2.5 cm (1 in) and it weighs less than 1 g (0.04 oz). It is found in the western Pacific Ocean at depths between 10 and 100 ft (3 and 30 m).