''Enteroctopus megalocyathus'', also known as Patagonian red octopus (EN), Pulpo del sur (Chile) and Pulpo colorado (Argentina); is a medium-sized octopus, and the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

for the genus '' Enteroctopus''.

Size and description

''E. megalocyathus'' is a relatively large octopus, though not as large as some other giant octopuses like

Enteroctopus dofleini The giant Pacific octopus (''Enteroctopus dofleini''), also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus ''Enteroctopus''. Its spatial distribution includes the coastal North Pacific, along Mexico ...

. ''E. megalocyathus'' has an average mass of around 4 kg. Although, some individuals have outweighed this and reached till 7.5 kg (M) and 8 kg (F). A mantle length of 22.5 cm,CephBase: ''Enteroctopus megalocyathus''
and in excess of 1 m in total length, but other author reported a max. total length in Chile of 1.3 m. ''E. megalocyathus'', like other octopuses in the genus ''Enteroctopus'', has longitudinal folds and grooves on the body and large, paddle-like papillae.Hochberg, F.G. (1998). ''Enteroctopus''. In: ''Taxonomic atlas of the benthic fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and the Western Santa Barbara Channel''. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. p. 203.

Fisheries

''E. megalocyathus'' is one of the two commercially significant octopuses in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an waters, along with '' Octopus mimus''. Yearly catch of the two octopuses fluctuates between 2,000 and 5,000 tons. In Chile, his extraction ban date is from October 15 to March 15, and its range is from the Araucanía region to the Magallanes region, and in regular season, only specimens weighing more than 1 kg are allowed to be extracted.

Predators

Like most octopuses, ''E. megalocyathus'' is a choice meal for many predators larger than it. ''E. megalocyathus'' has been shown to be a major dietary component of beaked skates ('' Dipturus chilensis''), spiny dogfish (''

Squalus acanthias The spiny dogfish (''Squalus acanthias''), spurdog, mud shark, or piked dogfish is one of the best known species of the Squalidae (dogfish) family of sharks, which is part of the Squaliformes order. While these common names may apply to several ...

''), and the South American sea lion (''

Otaria flavescens The South American sea lion (''Otaria flavescens'', formerly ''Otaria byronia''), also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion, is a sea lion found on the western and southeastern coasts of South America. It is the only member ...

'').

Range

This octopus is native to the southeastern coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

along the coasts of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(Atlantic Ocean) and

(Pacific Ocean). In Chile ranges from north Patagonia,

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de Chiloé, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and t ...

to Strait of Magellan and even more at 56°S, and in Argentina from the

San Matías Gulf The San Matias Gulf is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina. It is bordered by the Río Negro Province to the north and west, and the Valdes Peninsula of the Chubut Province to the south. It is "one of the largest ...

to the

Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego f ...

, including the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

and the

Burdwood bank The Burdwood Bank, called Namuncurá in Argentina and other countries, is an undersea bank with a prominence of approximately 200 metres (110 fathoms), part of the Scotia Arc projecting some from Cape Horn in the South Atlantic Ocean and located ...

. Its vertical range distribution in the water column is from 0 m depth (e.g. juvenile in intertidal rocky shore) to 220 m depth (e.g. seen in bottom crab traps) in Chile.

Feeding ecology

In general it is an opportunistic predator and eats crabs, teleost fishes, some molluscs e.g. clams, mussels, sea snails among other prey. In Southern Chile, specifically in

Los Lagos region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

, the adults octopuses prefer to eat big crabs like jaiba reina, jaiba peluda and even other ''E. megalocyathus'' as they are cannibal, as well as other species; meanwhile the younger octopuses prefer to eat jaiba mora, crab eggs, shrimp and squat lobster or langostino de los canales.

Aquaculture status

This species has high protein content and low-fat percentage. It also possesses a fast growth rate and easy weighing in rearing conditions; thereby making it an ideal species to culture.

References

External links

Images of ''E. megalocyathus''
many of which show the longitudinal folds of the body and paddle-like papillae that characterize this genus. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2025686 Octopuses Cephalopods of South America Molluscs of Chile Molluscs of Argentina Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Cephalopods described in 1852