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First report of Amphioctopus neglectus (Nateewathana & Norman, 1999) and A. rex (Nateewathana & Norman, 1999) (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) from the Indian coast 

V. SREEJA¹, A. BIJUKUMAR^1* & MARK D. NORMAN² 

¹Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala, India 

² Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia *Corresponding 

author: Email: abiju@rediffmail.com 

Abstract 

Two ocellate octopus species from the genus Amphioctopus; Amphioctopus neglectus (Nateewathana & Norman, 1999) and A. rex (Nateewathana & Norman, 1999) are recorded from Indian waters for the first time. These octopus species are present in fisheries trawl catches off the Kerala coast and have current or potential commercial value. The new records extend the known distribution of these species, previously known from Thai territorial waters, both in the Gulf of Thailand (Pacific Ocean) and the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean), and suggest their potentially continuous distribution from the tropical continental waters of south-east Asia to the western Indian Ocean. These taxa are also discriminated from other ocellate Amphioctopus species described or reported more widely from the tropical Indian Ocean. 

Key words: Octopus, Octopodidae, ocellate octopus, taxonomy, Kerala, Indian Ocean, distribution

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