First detection of an ocellate octopus in the Revillagigedos ecoregion, a biodiversity hotspot located in the Tropical East Pacific Province

Alejandra Valdez-Cibrián; Mariana Díaz-Santana-Iturrios; Víctor Landa-Jaime; Jesús Emilio Michel-Morfín

doi:10.3897/zookeys.986.53250

First detection of an ocellate octopus in the Revillagigedos ecoregion, a biodiversity hotspot located in the Tropical East Pacific Province

Zookeys. 2020 Nov 5:986:81-100. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.986.53250. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Alejandra Valdez-Cibrián¹, Mariana Díaz-Santana-Iturrios², Víctor Landa-Jaime¹, Jesús Emilio Michel-Morfín³

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Estudios para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Zonas Costeras - CUCSUR, Universidad de Guadalajara. Melaque, Jalisco, Mexico. Gómez Farias 82, San Patricio-Melaque, Jalisco, C.P. 48980, Mexico.
² Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biológico Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, Xalisco, Nayarit, Mexico. Carretera Tepic-Compostela, Km 9, Xalisco, Nayarit, C.P. 63155, México.
³ Departamento de Ecología Aplicada- CUCBA, Universidad de Guadalajara. Camino Ing. Ramón Padilla Sánchez 2100, Predio las Agujas, Zapopan, Jalisco, 45510, Mexico.

Abstract

The biodiversity of mollusks, particularly cephalopods, has not been exhaustively determined in the Revillagigedos ecoregion, which is a biodiversity hotspot for several marine groups located in the Tropical East Pacific Province. In our study, we detected and examined ocellate octopuses from Socorro and Clarion Islands, and determined their identity using morphological criteria and molecular data from two mitochondrial genes (COIII and COI). The taxon identified was Octopus oculifer, a species considered endemic to the Galapagos Archipelago. In addition, according to our analyses, O. mimus, O. hubbsorum and O. oculifer are very closely related and may represent a species complex comprised of three morphotypes. We found that the evolutionary relationships among octopuses are not determined by the presence of ocelli. This study is the first to report a clade represented by ocellate and non-ocellate species, in addition, the identity of cephalopods in the Revillagigedos was determined with analytical support.

Keywords: Cephalopoda; Benthic octopus; Octopod; Tropical Pacific; synonym.

Alejandra Valdez-Cibrián, Mariana Díaz-Santana-Iturrios, Víctor Landa-Jaime, Jesús Emilio Michel-Morfín.

Grants and funding

This work was supported with the institutional budget of Universidad de Guadalajara-CUCSUR for Laboratorio de Ecologia de Bentos. Field activities in the Revillagigedo National Park were funded by Secretaría de Educación Pública-Programa para el desarrollo profesional docente, para el tipo superior (SEP-PRODEP)-for Red Temática de Colaboración Académica “Estudio de los moluscos marinos de interés farmacológico” (739-CA-UDEG) (J.E.M.M.).