# Octopus hubbsorum
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{{Short description|Species of Octopus}}
{{use mdy dates|cs1-dates=ly|date=February 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Hubb's Octopus imported from iNaturalist photo 259072930 on 13 February 2024.jpg
| image_caption = [Manzanillo, Colima](/source/Manzanillo%2C_Colima), Mexico, 2023
| genus = Octopus
| species = hubbsorum
| authority = S. S. Berry, 1953
| synonyms =
}}
'''''Octopus hubbsorum''''' (also known as '''Hubb's octopus'''), is an [octopus](/source/octopus) in the family [Octopodidae](/source/Octopodidae).[{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Octopus hubbsorum (S. S. Berry, 1953) |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=341983 |access-date=November 14, 2023 |website=[World Register of Marine Species](/source/World_Register_of_Marine_Species)}}] It is commonly found along tropical waters along the central [Pacific Coast of Mexico](/source/Pacific_Coast_of_Mexico). Here, they are one of the most commonly caught [cephalopod](/source/cephalopod)s and are commercially extremely important for the economy.
== Ecology ==
===General===
''O. hubbsorum'' is a [benthic](/source/Benthic_zone) [free-swimming](/source/free-swimming) octopus commonly found in [intertidal](/source/Intertidal_zone) and shallow [subtidal](/source/Neritic_zone) zones of the [Mexico pacific](/source/Pacific_Coast_of_Mexico). Typically, they are found hiding in small places along [coral reef](/source/coral_reef)s in shallow waters. Additionally, they do not stay in one area, rather they display seasonal movement due to changes in diet patterns.[{{Cite journal |last1=Pez-Uriarte |first1=Ernesto Lo |last2=Rios-Jara |first2=Eduardo |last3=Gonzalez-Rodriguez |first3=Monica Elizabeth |date=2008 |title=Diet and feeding habits of Octopus hubbsorum Berry, 1953, in the Central Mexican Pacific. |journal=The Veliger |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=26–42 |via=Academia.edu}}] The typical [mantle](/source/Mantle_(mollusc)) length is medium sized at {{cvt|220|mm}} with an average weight of {{cvt|766.6|g}}.[{{Cite journal |last1=Alejo-Plata |first1=María del Carmen |last2=Alejo |first2=Sac-nicté Herrera |date=February 2014 |title=First Description of Eggs and Paralarvae of Green Octopus ''Octopus hubbsorum'' (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) under Laboratory Conditions |journal=American Malacological Bulletin |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=132–139 |doi=10.4003/006.032.0101 |s2cid=84576973 |issn=0740-2783}}] It has been found that there is a continuous mature population, which can be accredited to the warmer waters they live in. Additionally, mature males were typically smaller than mature females.[{{Cite journal |last1=Alejo-Plata |first1=María del Carmen |last2=Gómez-Márquez |first2=José Luis |date=March 2015 |title=Reproductive Biology of''Octopus hubbsorum''(Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) from the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4003/006.033.0117 |journal=American Malacological Bulletin |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=89–100 |doi=10.4003/006.033.0117 |s2cid=85713882 |issn=0740-2783|url-access=subscription }}] It is interesting to note that the species was noticed to have no [ocelli](/source/Simple_eye_in_invertebrates). Some other physical characteristics include a rounded mantle shape, individually enlarged [proximal](/source/Anatomical_terms_of_location) suckers in males and females, and tapered arms.[{{Cite journal |last1=Domínguez-Contreras |first1=José F. |last2=Ceballos-Vázquez |first2=Bertha P. |last3=Hochberg |first3=Frederick G. |last4=Arellano-Martínez |first4=Marcial |date=January 2013 |title=A New Record in a Well-Established Population of ''Octopus hubbsorum'' (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) Expands its Known Geographic Distribution Range and Maximum Size |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4003/006.031.0122 |journal=American Malacological Bulletin |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=95–99 |doi=10.4003/006.031.0122 |s2cid=86018851 |issn=0740-2783|url-access=subscription }}]
===Diet===
''O. hubbsorum'', like all other octopods, display [carnivorous](/source/carnivorous) tendencies. Their diet, however, varies throughout their lifespan. The typical diet of mature individuals is rather broad when compared to the diet of juveniles. One study found that ''O. hubbsorum'' feeds on 50 different types of [prey](/source/Predation). There is a notable difference between the diets of mature males and females. This is seen in other species of octopuses and is most likely due to the fact that female octopuses are more [metabolically](/source/Metabolism) taxed when reproducing. These reproducing females are noticed to ingest organisms that are not frequently ingested by others, most likely due to the need to stay close to the nest and just eating what is available. Senscent females (post reproduction) when monitored, were more likely to have empty stomachs when caught when compared to males of the same age. This similar behaviour is seen in the species [''O. mimus''](/source/Octopus_mimus) and is accredited to the fact that females undergo hormonal changes at this point in their lives that ultimately alter their diet. Overall, [crustacean](/source/crustacean)s make up the majority of both male and female diets. However, they also have been found to eat [mollusks](/source/Mollusca) and fishes as well as [echinoderm](/source/echinoderm)s, [chaetognaths](/source/Chaetognatha), [siphonophores](/source/Siphonophorae), and [polychaete](/source/polychaete)s. Overall, feeding patterns vary according to time of year, sex, and with maturation. As for their [hunting strategy](/source/hunting_strategy), they are thought to hunt at night, as [octopods](/source/Octopodidae) caught in the morning in one study had full stomachs.[{{Cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Joseph T. |last2=Voight |first2=Janet R. |date=September 2003 |title=Erectile tissue in an invertebrate animal: the ''Octopus'' copulatory organ |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0952836903003996 |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=261 |issue=1 |pages=101–108 |doi=10.1017/s0952836903003996 |issn=0952-8369|url-access=subscription }}] The above mentioned study found that the double [hectocotylization](/source/Hectocotylus) is mostly non bilateral, meaning that they are not in the same pair of arms. The additional hectocotylus does not contain ligula. Because of this, it is characterized as an accessory hectocotylus and is still used in the mating ritual, but not directly in [copulation.](/source/Copulation_(zoology)) It is also thought that the presence of the second hectocotylus is a product of sexual selection, due to the tendency of ''O. hubbsorum'' to congregate in large groups. The current thought is that double hectocotylization acts as a visual signal for mating as opposed to the commonly practiced chemical signals for mating.[{{Cite journal |date=March 29, 2019 |title=Double Hectocotylization in Hubb's Octopus, Octopus hubbsorum (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4002/040.062.0207 |journal=Malacologia |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=311 |doi=10.4002/040.062.0207 |s2cid=196662913 |issn=0076-2997|url-access=subscription }}]
== Development ==
The [embryonic](/source/Embryonic_stem_cell) development of ''O. hubbsorum'' is like that of many other [cephalopod](/source/cephalopod)s. Females produce large clutch sizes with small eggs, which is most likely due to the ability to invest little care and energy for each individual egg. As for the structure of the egg itself, a pear shaped [chorion](/source/chorion) and long chorion stalk envelope and tether the egg, respectively. The eggs are off white in color with an average length of {{cvt|0.9|-|2.4|mm}} and the average width of {{cvt|0.06|-|0.18|mm}}. The egg clusters were noticeably kept together by a green matrix. Though the study did not list the chemical makeup, it can be inferred that this is simply a [secretion](/source/secretion) that allows the eggs to be held together. [Chromatophore](/source/Chromatophore)s appear in stages XIV to XV according to Naef [morphological](/source/Morphological_typology) descriptions, and [iridocytes](/source/Chromatophore) appear at stage XVII. Arms begin to grow at stage XIV and end up having three suckers each by the time they hatch. At stage XX, the eyes are able to move freely.[{{cite book |last1=Ponder |first1=Winston F. |chapter=Reproduction and Development |date=2020 |title=Biology and Evolution of the Mollusca |pages=421–507 |volume=1 |place=Boca Raton |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-351-11566-7 |last2=Lindberg |first2=David R. |last3=Ponder |first3=Juliet M. |doi=10.1201/9781351115667-8 |s2cid=213527163}}] The species are planktonic swimmers once hatched and are able to use jet propulsion but stay near the surface. [Parental care](/source/Parental_care) of the eggs is shown through the female ventilating, cleaning, and protecting the eggs until all have hatched. Octopods in the post [embryonic](/source/Embryonic_stem_cell) stage are very high energy with keen ability to [hunt](/source/Hunting). There was, however, a low survival rate of paralarvae due to the dangerous and [competitive](/source/Competition) environment (María del Carmen Alejo-Plata, Sac-nicté Herrera Alejo, 2014).