Incubation Time Required for Hatching, and Ecological Characteristics of the Mode of Life Related with Total Numbers of the Suckers on Each Short Arm of the Hatched Juvenile Larvae of Octopus ocellatus (Cephallopoda: Octopodidae), in Western Korea

Abstract

The incubation time required for hatching of O. ocellatus were investigated through the processes of egg and embryonic developments by the dissecting microscopic and visual observations. And differences in ecological characteristics of the plankton mode of life or the benthic mode of life according to total numbers of the suckers on each short arm of the hatched juvenile larvae of O. ocellatus were studied by comparisons with other octopodidae species. Compared with the recent a few results reported by other researchers associated with the incubation time required for hatching by female adult mother of O. minor (73-90 days after spawning at 20.9-21.5℃ ranges), in this study, the incubation time required for hatching by female adult mother of O. ocellatus was 56-57 days after spawning at 11.0-20.4℃. Therefore, the incubation time required for hatching by female adult mother varied with Octopodidae species. In this studies, each ovarian egg laid by a female was connected to an egg string attaching to the surface of the wall or bottom of vacunt shell of Rapana venosa. Egg and embryonic developments of this species were studied in the indoor aquaria, in the specific gravity ranging 1.024-1.025. the hatched juvenile of O. ocellatus is 10.3 mm in the mean total length and 4.5 mm in mantle length, and each of its short arms has 18-20 suckers. The just hatched juvenile larvae of O. ocellatus enter the benthic mode of life (benthic larval stage) after hatching. In particular, regarding differences in ecological characteristics of the mode of life according to total numbers of the suckers, O. vulgaris may not need to have many suckers because they enter the planktonic mode of life after hatching, however O. ocellatus may need to have many suckers, because they should adapt to the benthic mode of life. And also the just hatched juvenile larvae of O. minor (bearing many suckers more than O. ocellatus) enter the benthic mode of life (benthic larval stage) after hatching. Therefore, the total number of the suckers on each short arm of the hatched juvenile larvae can be used for determining whether an octopus species has planktonic larval stages or benthic larval stage (benthic mode of life). In particular, The intracohort cannibalism phenomena appeared at the hatched juvenile larval stage because the larval stage of O. ocellatus and O. minor enter into the benthic larval stage in the early stage, unlike entering into the plaktonic larval stage in other Octopus species such as O. vulgaris: at this time, the early hatched larvae fed the late hatched larvae (they are the same species and almost same ages). Therefore, the intracohort cannibalism pheneomena occur in the just hatched juvenile stage of only O. ocellatus and O. minor.