vulgaris type II was different from the original O. Results from this study indicated this was not O. vulgaris type I from the Yucatan continental shelf. In 2020, a study explored this question analyzing genetic information from 16 specimens tentatively identified as O. vulgaris species complex? *cue dramatic music* vulgaris or another member belonging to the O. In 2016, it was found that this species’ distribution (Brazil to the Caribbean Sea) overlapped with that of O. americanus-like specimens however, the status of this species remained unresolved. Backer realized the octopus he examined was different from the common octopus from the Mediterranean and the Northwestern Atlantic. Just kidding…plot twist:Īn octopus species in the West Atlantic was first described in 1758 by Backer who called it Octopus americanus. tetricus (“cf” meaning compare this animal to O. tetricus (eastern Australia and northern New Zealand), and O.

Next, in 2019, a study suggested the existence of 6 (not 4 anymore) species belonging to the O. In 2016, type IV was renamed Octopus sinensis. vulgaris type I (Caribbean Sea and North America), type II (along the coast of Brazil), type III (along the coast of South Africa), and type IV (Japan).Ī number of studies have used molecular tools to gain insight on this complex group of octopuses. Since then, the species name Octopus vulgaris has been applied to four octopuses with different geographical distributions across tropical, subtropical and temperate waters worldwide and is known as the Octopus vulgaris species complex.

Common octopus