Description: A new genus of octopus is described from northern Australian waters. Ameloctopus litoralis, gen. et sp. nov., is a shallow-water octopus characterised by the absemce of an inc sac, vestigal funnel organ, terminal organ without a diverticulum, marked elongation of the arms and arm autonomy. It is found across northern Australia from southern Queensland to north-west Western Australia, primarily on coastal mudflats and interdial reefs. This species occupies lairs in shallow and interdial coastal habitats, feeding by extending arms from the safety of the lair or by foraging at night during low tides, over open sand, mud and rubble. A. litoralis lays large eggs, indicating that hatchling are benthic and dispersal limited. Loss of the ink sac in a shallow-water octopod and the development of arm autonomy are discussed. Relationships with other octopod taxa exhibiting similar traits are examined.

Description: Three hundred and fifty specimens of the endemic Southern Ocean octopus genus Pareledone, were sequenced for the barcoding gene COI. Geographic coverage comprised the South Shetland Islands, the Ross Sea, Adélie Land, George V Land, the Weddell Sea, under the site of the former Larsen B ice shelf, Prydz Bay, the South Orkney Islands and the Amundsen Sea. The greatest number of specimens was captured at the three first-mentioned localities. At least 11 species were represented in the samples and the analyses revealed cryptic species. Six species were found to have extended distributions. Circumpolarity is supported for at least one species. Evidence is presented for a barrier to gene flow to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula, with haplotypes of P. aequipapillae becoming progressively more diverse in a clockwise direction from the South Shetland Islands to the Amundsen Sea. This pattern is akin to that seen in ring species, although we suggest that comparatively warm bottom water acts as a physical barrier preventing completion of the ring.

Description: Norman, M.D., 1992. Four new octopus species of the Octopus macropus group (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 53: 267-308. Four new species of shallow-water octopuses are described from tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. All four are members of the "Octopus macropus group" (Robson, 1929), characterised by arms of unequal length with the dorsal pair longest (AF 1.2.3.4), moderate to high gill lamellae counts (10-14 per demibranch) and a robust conical copulatory organ. All are nocturnally active. Two species, O. alpheus and O. aspilosomatis spp. nov., occur in clear waters foraging predominantly on intertidal coral reefs and offshore islands. O. dierythraeus sp. nov. forages intertidally and subtidally on muddy substrates in coastal waters. Octopus grapus occurs in more open waters, on sandy and mud substrata in the channels and flat bottoms between islands. Full morphological descriptions are provided, along with details of known distributions, life history and commercial exploitation. Delineation of each species from related taxa is discussed.

Description: Octopus cyanea Gray, 1849 is widely distributed throughout tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. O. cyanea was originally described from an unspecified locality in Australian waters as "Coast of New Holland". This paper provides detailed description and diagnostic characters for this species based on Australian specimens, original data and on Australian and wider distributions, and an updated synonymy. The extant syntyp "a" (BMNH 1928.2.4.1) is designated as lectotype. O. cynaea occurs in association with coral reefs in northern Australian tropical waters from the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, north to Torres Strait and west to North West Cape, Western Australia. The misuse of the name Octopus canea (and cyaneus) for a species from temperate Australian waters is also resolved.

Description: The morphology, distribution, and life history of the "white-striped octopus", Octopus ornatus Gould, 1852, from Australian waters are reported. Information gathered on habitat preferences, acivity patterns, foraging behaviour and diet also are presented. Australian representatives of this species are described and compared withthe neotype from Hawaiian waters. Prior reports of O. ornatus from Australia refer to a related species, Octopus aspilosomatis Norman, 1933a. Distributional records from Aisia, the Indian Ocean and the South pacific Ocean are presented. The known distributon of O. ornatus extends from Easter Island and the Hawaiian islands, west to eastern Africa. Delineation of O. orantus from related taxa is discussed.

Description: Norman, M.D., 1992. Ocellate octopuses (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia; description of two new species and redescription of Octopus polyzenia Gray, 1849. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 53: 309-344. Four species of ocellate octopuses are reported from the waters of the Great barrier Reef, Australia. Ocellate octopuses echibit a false eye-spot (or ocellus) on the arm crown below each eye. Octopus polyzenia Gray, 1849 is reported as an occellate species for the first time and is redescribed based on examination of the type and specimens from tropical waters across northern Australia. Two new species, O. exannulatus and O. mototi spp. nov. are descibed and details of distribution and life history are presented. The widely distributed O. cyanea Gray, 1849 is the fourth occellate species found on the Great Barrier reef. Octopus cyanea shows different affinities to the other three species and may be of separate origin. A key for ocellate octopuses from others of the tropical Indo-West Pacific is discussed. Distribution patterns also are examined.

Description: Recent captures of two female giant squid ( Architeuthis ) off southern Australia have provided the first record of a mated female specimen of these almost mythical deepsea creatures. We found sperm packages (spermatophores) embedded within the skin of both ventral arms of the larger of the two specimens. It seems that male giant squids may use their muscular elongate penis to ‘inject’ sperm packages under pressure directly into the arms of females.

Description: Six mid-depth octopuses of the Order Octopoda are reported from the Banda and Arafura Seas off Indonesia and northern Australia, based on material collected through the collaborative French-Indonesian KARUBAR cruise of 1991. Octopod material was collected through benthic trawls at 18 of 91 stations, at depths between 199 and 869 metres. Two new species are described here, Benthoctopus karubar sp. nov. and Octopus pyrum sp. nov. An additional species of the genus Octopus is reported as indeterminate but distinct from 0. pyrum. The genus Pteroctopus is reported from lndo-Pacific waters for the first time, based on female material collected through the KARUBAR cruise and linked with additional male material collected off New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Eledone palari is recorded as a northerly extension to the Australian distribution reported in the original description for this species. A single submature female of the pelagic octopod, Haliphron atlanticus (previously treated under the name Alloposus mollis), is also reported from the region. The depth distributions and phylogenetic affinities of this fauna are discussed.

Description: Octopuses of the family Octopodidae adopt two major life-history strategies. The first is the production of relatively few, large eggs resulting in well-developed hatchlings that resemble the adults and rapidly adopt the benthic habit of their parents. The second strategy is production of numerous small eggs that hatch into planktonic, free-swimming hatchlings with few suckers, simple chromatophores and transparent musculature. These distinctive planktonic stages are termed paralarvae and differ from conspecific adults in their morphology, physiology, ecology and behaviour. This study aims to review available knowledge on this subject. In benthic octopuses with planktonic stages, spawning characteristics and duration of planktonic life seem to play an important role in their dispersal capacities. Duration of the hatching period of a single egg mass can range from 2 days to 11 wk, while duration of the planktonic stage can range from 3 wk to half a year, depending on the species and temperature. Thus these paralarvae possess considerable potential for dispersal. In some species, individuals reach relatively large sizes while living as part of the micronekton of oceanic, epipelagic waters. Such forms appear to delay settlement for an unknown period that is suspected to be longer than for paralarvae in more coastal, neritic waters. During the planktonic period, paralarval octopuses feed on crustaceans as their primary prey. In addition to the protein, critical to the protein-based metabolism of octopuses (and all cephalopods), the lipid and copper contents of the prey also appear important in maintaining normal growth. Littoral and oceanic fishes are their main predators and defence behaviours may involve fast swimming speeds, use of ink decoys, dive responses and camouflage. Sensory systems of planktonic stages include photo-, mechano- and chemoreceptors controlled by a highly evolved nervous system that follows the general pattern described for adult cephalopods. On settlement, a major metamorphosis occurs in morphology, physiology and behaviour. Morphological changes associated with the settlement process include positive allometric arm growth; chromatophore, iridophore and leucophore genesis; development of skin sculptural components and a horizontal pupillary response. At the same time, animals lose the Kölliker organs that cover the body surface, the ‘lateral line system’ and the oral denticles of the beaks. Strong positive phototaxis is a common response for hatchlings and some later paralarval stages but this response reduces, disappears or reverses after settlement. There are many gaps in our knowledge of the planktonic phases of benthic octopuses. Most of our understanding of octopus paralarvae comes from studies of just two species (Octopus vulgaris and Enteroctopus dofleini) and knowledge of the vast majority of benthic octopus species with planktonic stages is considered rudimentary or non-existent. Research is needed in a variety of fields, from taxonomy to ecology. Studies of feeding and nutrition are critical in order to develop the nascent aquaculture of key species and ageing studies are necessary to understand planktonic population dynamics,particularly in commercially valuable species targeted by fisheries. Current and potential anthropogenic impacts on these early life stages of octopuses, such as pollution, overfishing and global warming, are also identified.