{{Short description|Species of octopus}} {{Speciesbox | image = Abdopus abaculus.jpg | status = DD | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Allcock, L. |author2=Taite, M. |title=''Abdopus abaculus'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T163036A965631 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T163036A965631.en |access-date=12 September 2025}}</ref> | taxon = Abdopus abaculus | authority = Norman & Sweeney, 1997 }}
'''''Abdopus abaculus''''', or the '''mosaic octopus''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mosaic Octopus |url=https://reefguide.org/abdopusabaculus.html |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Florent's Guide to the Tropical Reefs}}</ref> is a species of pygmy octopus.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huffard |first=Christine L. |last2=Caldwell |first2=Roy L. |last3=Boneka |first3=Farnis |date=2008-02-23 |title=Mating behavior of Abdopus aculeatus (d'Orbigny 1834) (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the wild |journal=Marine Biology |volume=154 |issue=2 |pages=353–362 |doi=10.1007/s00227-008-0930-2 |issn=0025-3162}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Finn |first=Julian |date=2017-11-16 |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Abdopus abaculus (Norman & Sweeney, 1997) |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=534100 |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=World Register of Marine Species}}</ref> It was first described as ''Octopus abaculus'' by M. D. Norman and M. J. Sweeney in 1997 based on specimens caught in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norman |first=M. D. |last2=Sweeney |first2=M. J. |date=1997 |title=The Shallow-water Octopuses (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) of the Philippines |journal=Invertebrate Taxonomy |volume=11 |issue= |page=89 |doi=10.1071/it95026 |issn=1445-5226}}</ref>
== Description == ''A. abaculus'' have a mantle length of up to {{convert|33|mm}} and a weight of up to {{convert|21|g}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Norman |first=M. D. |url=https://www.fao.org/3/i3489e/i3489e.pdf |title=Cephalopods of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cephalopod Species Known to Date |last2=Finn |first2=J. K. |last3=Hochberg |first3=F. G. |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2016 |isbn=978-92-5-107989-8 |editor-last=Jereb |editor-first=Patrizia |series=FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes No. 4 |volume=3: Octopodes and Vampire Squids |publication-place=Rome, Italy |publication-date=2016 |chapter=Family Octopodidae |issn=1020-8682 |editor-last2=Roper |editor-first2=Clyde F. E. |editor-last3=Norman |editor-first3=Mark D. |editor-last4=Finn |editor-first4=Julian K.}}</ref> Arms are 4.5 to 6 times the length of the mantle. ''A. abaculus'' is dark gray to dark purple with cream to light purple spots. It has up to 204 suckers on normal arms and up to 121 on hectocotylised arms.<ref name=":1" />
== Distribution == ''A. abaculus'' is found in the Philippines,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norman |first=M. D. |last2=Nabhitabhata |first2=J. |last3=Lu |first3=C. C. |date=2016-06-29 |title=An updated checklist of the cephalopods of the South China Sea |url=https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/app/uploads/2017/06/S34rbz566-592.pdf |journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology |volume=Supplement 34 |pages=566-592}}</ref> and has also been reported in Tonga,<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Huffard |first=Christine L. |date=2007 |title=Four new species of shallow water pygmy octopus (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) from the Kingdom of Tonga |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christine-Huffard/publication/263083845_Four_new_species_of_shallow_water_pygmy_octopus_Mollusca_Cephalopoda_from_the_Kingdom_of_Tonga/links/56a7f7df08ae997e22bc2982/Four-new-species-of-shallow-water-pygmy-octopus-Mollusca-Cephalopoda-from-the-Kingdom-of-Tonga.pdf |journal=Molluscan Research |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=147–170 |via=}}</ref> Fiji,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Loganimoce |first=Epeli M. |last2=Brown |first2=Kelly T. |last3=Savou |first3=Rusila |last4=Kitolelei |first4=Jokim V. |last5=Tukana |first5=Max |last6=Southgate |first6=Paul C. |last7=Lal |first7=Monal M. |date=2023-04-08 |title=Octopuses in the south-west Pacific region: a review of fisheries, ecology, cultural importance and management |journal=Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=977–1003 |doi=10.1007/s11160-023-09772-9 |issn=0960-3166}}</ref> and Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kaneko |first=Natsumi |last2=Kubodera |first2=Tsunemi |date=2007 |title=First Records of Two Abdopus Octopuses, A. abaculus (Norman and Sweeney, 1997) and A. aculeatus (d'Orbigny, 1834) from Japan |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/taxa/22/0/22_KJ00004993048/_pdf/-char/en |journal=TAXA: Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology |volume=22 |pages=38–43}}</ref> It is found at depths of {{convert|0|to|5|m|spell=in}}.<ref name=":0" />
== Reproduction == ''A. abaculus'' lays eggs of up to {{convert|2.4|mm|2}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Villanueva |first=Roger |last2=Norman |first2=Mark D. |date=2008 |title=Biology of the Planktonic Stages of Benthic Octopuses |url=https://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/19583 |journal=Oceanography and Marine Biology |volume=46 |pages=105-202}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2586927}}
Category:Octopodidae Category:Cephalopods described in 1997 Category:Taxa named by Mark Norman (marine biologist)