Biodiversity & Conservation

Common octopus - Octopus vulgaris

Octopus vulgaris

Image David Nicholson - Octopus vulgaris.
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Distribution map

Octopus vulgaris recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Octopus vulgaris is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Cephalopoda Cuttlefish, nautilus, octopus & squid
Authority Cuvier, 1797
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Reaches its north-eastern limit in south-western Britain and the western English Channel.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found on rocky coasts, shallow sublittoral. Has adapted to live in very different habitats
Text page icon Description A medium to large sized octopus reaching up to 1.3 meters in length, with a distinctly warty body.
The arms are thick and stout bearing two rows of longitudinal suckers.
The colour varies from grey-yellow-brown-green and can change according to the situation.
Identifying features
  • Medium to large sized, body distinctly warty.
  • Arms stout of about equal length and thickness with two longitudinal rows of suckers, dorsal pair of arms slightly shorter.
  • Colour - variable, grey-yellow-brown-green according to situation.
Additional information icon Additional information No text entered

This review can be cited as follows:

Emily Wilson 2006. Octopus vulgaris. Common octopus. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 23/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3937>