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A comprehensive survey of the octopus fauna around the Americas is presented to facilitate and accelerate the assessment of a full understanding of American octopus biodiversity. Brief accounts are provided summarizing research efforts on octopus species taxonomy, diversity and distribution in different regions of North and South America. Octopus americanus and O. insularis are compared and clearly distinguished from each other and from the closely-related European species, O. vulgaris. The use of genus names Paroctopus and Pinnoctopus is clarified. Included is a discussion of the recent application of genus name Paroctopus to warm-temperate and tropical species of small size, along with a cautionary note about species identifications in the light of past errors in misassigning large-to-giant cold-water species to genus Paroctopus. Related to problems with identifying species of Paroctopus, there is an appended note concerning misidentifications and the importance of thorough species descriptions to obtain species information at the levels of both phenotype and genotype. A lectotype is formally designated for Bathypolypus arcticus (Prosch, 1849); and the status of so-called 'Octopus giganteus' is reviewed briefly. A supplementary online database, AmeriCeph, provides basic information about all known octopus species of the Americas, including the institutional location of type material and the identification of voucher specimens and their depositories. DNA sequences registered in this database are not all fully compatible with barcoding standards. However, a subset of DNA sequences conforming to strict barcode identifications is provided in a second supplementary table, providing barcode sequences directly applicable also to improving standards of seafood traceability. This in turn contributes to building sustainability of exploited octopus fisheries stocks and identification of species suitable for aquaculture trials to meet the increasing commercial demand for octopus worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]