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Abstract Tetrodotoxin is a potent non-proteinaceous neurotoxin, which is commonly found in the marine environment. Synthesised by bacteria, tetrodotoxin has been isolated from the tissues of several genera including pufferfish, salamanders and octopus. Believed to provide a defensive function, the independent evolution of tetrodotoxin sequestration is poorly understood in most species. Two mechanisms of tetrodotoxin resistance have been identified to date, tetrodotoxin binding proteins in the circulatory system and mutations to voltage gated sodium channels, the binding target of tetrodotoxin with the former potentially succeeding the latter in evolutionary time. This review focuses on the evolution of tetrodotoxin acquisition, in particular how it may have occurred within the blue-ringed octopus genus (Hapalochlaena) and the subsequent impact on venom evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female octopuses are known to store sperm from multiple males they encounter throughout a breeding season, before laying a single clutch with mixed paternity. Although octopuses display a broad range of precopulatory behaviours, and both sperm competition and cryptic female choice have been hypothesized to occur, the current understanding of how these processes influence resulting paternity remains limited. This study aimed to identify behavioural factors associated with paternity patterns and the capacity of females to bias paternity postcopulation to specific males in the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa . Genetic markers and controlled, sequential, laboratory pairings of genotyped individuals were used to examine paternity patterns and compare them to relative signatures of male sperm remaining in female oviducal glands after egg laying. Multiple paternity was discovered in all 12 laboratory-reared clutches. There was no indication that the relative time spent in copulation affected the resulting paternity. Males that waited for females to terminate the copulation had greater paternity when they were the first candidate male, but this was not the case among second candidate males. The relative quantities of candidate male alleles detected in female oviducal glands after egg laying were consistent with relative paternity of the candidate males in all but three cases. In one of these, sibship analysis revealed that the male that obtained less paternity than expected was in fact the female's full-sibling brother. Although this study found no evidence for female postcopulatory selection of male sperm, anecdotal evidence suggests that female H. maculosa might benefit from polyandry if chemical processes can favour clutch fertilization by unrelated males. Future studies, investigating paternity bias among genotyped males of varying, but known relatedness to the female, might help to validate this pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemoreception cues potentially influence intraspecific interactions of cephalopods, including mate choice. However, at present there is limited empirical evidence demonstrating whether cephalopods can use olfaction to identify the sex or identity of conspecifics. This study examined the responses of the southern blueringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Hoyle, 1883), to conspecific odours during controlled laboratory trials. The ventilation rates in aquaria of 25 wild-sourced animals were measured during four treatments: baseline, sea water, sea water containing male conspecific odour and sea water containing female conspecific odour. When used as 'receivers' in trials, female H. maculosa significantly increased their ventilation rates in response to male odours, but not to female odours. However, female response decreased signifi- cantly with the receiver's size during female-odour treatments. The ventilation rates of male H. maculosa were statistically similar in all treatments. However, their ventilation rates showed a significant progressive increase over the observation period during male and female-odour treatments. Eighteen of these animals (nine females and nine males) were used in focal-animal trials 1 week after odour-cue experiments. Of these individuals, females were significantly more receptive to copulation attempts, and spent significantly more time per day in copulation, with males whose odours had elicited a weaker ventilation response in prior trials. These results suggest that female H. maculosa can use chemosensory cues to discriminate the sex, and possibly identity, of conspecifics and that this information might influence their mate choice. However, the mechanisms underlying these responses and subsequent copulatory access to females by males remain unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three specimens of Hapalochlaena nierstraszi were recorded first time at Kasimedu Fisheries Harbour, Chennai. It was caught by Trawl net gear at a depth of 20-30 m in Bay of Bengal (Latitudes 5°N & 22°N and longitudes 80°E & 100°E) along the Chennai Coast. A literature review on the distribution of this species revealed that this is the first report of Hapalochlaena nierstraszi from the Bay of Bengal along Chennai coast of India. A note on the morphological fetaures of this specimen is detailed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa Hoyle (1883), is a nocturnal species that exhibits a mating system in which females hold sperm from multiple males over a one to two month breeding window before laying a single egg clutch. Contrary to most studied animal mating systems where anisogamy exists, gamete package production is limited for both males and females of this species (approx. 50 spermatophores/eggs). This presents an animal model for studying aspects of sperm competition and dynamic mate choice behaviours. The present study reports on the mating behaviour of H. maculosa observed under laboratory conditions using infrared closedcircuit television video footage. Rates of male copulation attempts increased with male size, while female receptivity to mating attempts increased with female size, resulting in larger animals of both sexes gaining more copulations and spending more time per day in copulation. There was some evidence of female preference of larger males, but no male preference of females based on measured morphological traits. Both sexes terminated copulations in equal frequencies but maleterminated copulations were significantly shorter in duration. Males were more likely to terminate copulation early with females they had previously mated with, however were less likely to do so if the female had recently mated with a different male. Among male-terminated copulations, males mated for longer with females that had previously mated with other males in the trial. Male- male mounts were as common as male-female mounts, suggesting that male H. maculosa are not able to discriminate the sex of conspecifics. These findings suggest male strategic allocation of spermatophores based female mating history is an important factor influencing mating behaviours of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Blue-ringed octopuses (genus Hapalochlaena) possess the potent neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX). We examined the microdistribution of TTX in ten tissues of Hapalochlaena lunulata and Hapalochlaena fasciata by immunolabeling for fluorescent light microscopy (FLM). We visualized TTX throughout the posterior salivary gland, but the toxin was concentrated in cells lining the secretory tubules within the gland. Tetrodotoxin was present just beneath the epidermis of the integument (mantle and arms) and also concentrated in channels running through the dermis. This was suggestive of a TTX transport mechanism in the blood of the octopus, which would also explain the presence of the toxin in the blood-rich brachial hearts, gills, nephridia, and highly vascularized Needham''s sac (testes contents). We also present the first report of TTX in any cephalopod outside of the genus Hapalochlaena. A specimen of Octopus bocki from French Polynesia contained a small amount of TTX in the digestive gland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), one of the world's most venomous animals, has long captivated and endangered a large audience: children playing at the beach, divers turning over rocks, and biologists researching neurotoxins. These small animals spend much of their time in hiding, showing effective camouflage patterns. When disturbed, the octopus will flash around 60 iridescent blue rings and, when strongly harassed, bite and deliver a neurotoxin that can kill a human. Here, we describe the flashing mechanism and optical properties of these rings. The rings contain physiologically inert multilayer reflectors, arranged to reflect blue-green light in a broad viewing direction. Dark pigmented chromatophores are found beneath and around each ring to enhance contrast. No chromatophores are above the ring; this is unusual for cephalopods, which typically use chromatophores to cover or spectrally modify iridescence. The fast flashes are achieved using muscles under direct neural control. The ring is hidden by contraction of muscles above the iridophores; relaxation of these muscles and contraction of muscles outside the ring expose the iridescence. This mechanism of producing iridescent signals has not previously been reported in cephalopods and we suggest that it is an exceptionally effective way to create a fast and conspicuous warning display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In-depth studies on the intra-organismal distribution of toxin may yield valuable clues about potential ecological functions. The distribution of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in previously unexamined tissues of two species of blue-ringed octopuses, wild-caught Hapalochlaena fasciata and Hapalochlaena lunulata from the aquarium industry, was surveyed. Tissues from each individual were examined separately. Tetrodotoxin was detected in posterior salivary gland (PSG), arm, mantle, anterior salivary glands, digestive gland, testes contents, brachial heart, nephridia, gill, and oviducal gland of H. fasciata. By contrast TTX was found only in the PSG, mantle tissue, and ink of H. lunulata. The highest concentrations of TTX resided in the PSG of both species; however, the arms and mantle contained the greatest absolute amounts of TTX. Minimum total amounts of TTX per octopus ranged from 60 to 405μg in H. fasciata and from 0 to 174μg in H. lunulata and correlated well with the amounts in the PSG. Transport of TTX in the blood is loosely suggested by the presence of the toxin in blood-rich organs such as the gill and brachial hearts. The distributional data also suggest both offensive and defensive functions of TTX. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A species of dicyemid mesozoan is redescribed from the giant Pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini (Wülker, 1910), collected off Iwase in Toyama Bay, Honshu, Japan. Dicyemennea nouveli McConnaughey, 1959, is a large species that reaches about 12,000 μm in length. This species lives in folds of the renal appendages. The vermiform stages are characterized as having 30-41 peripheral cells, a conical calotte, and an axial cell that extends to the middle of the metapolar cells. An anterior abortive axial cell is present in vermiform embryos. Full-grown vermiform embryos have as many as 4 agametes. Infusoriform embryos consist of 39 cells; 2 nuclei are present in each urn cell and the refringent bodies are solid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octopus dofleini (Walker) is a common inhabitant of shallow subtidal communities in the Northeast Pacific. The abundances of octopuses at two sites monitored since 1977 have fluctuated greatly during this period. The populations reached high abundances in mid-summer and, during some years, mid-winter. The highest abundances at the two sites did not coincide. There was a constant influx of new octopuses into both study sites, with the greatest immigration occurring in early summer. The octopuses captured spanned a wide range of weights every month, with no clear size classes or seasonal trends in size. The weights of newly-captured octopuses, however, did differ between the sexes and seasons: males weighed more on the average than females, and male weight decreased from winter to fall while female weights did not change O. dofleini appeared to recruit throughout the year; the smallest octopuses occurred between May and November and the greatest number of small octopuses was found in July and August in most years. Females predominated at both study sites throughout the year. However, males predominated among octopuses caught in traps at nearby locations, suggesting that the skewed sex ratios were due to behavioral differences between the sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was quantitatively assayed in six specimens of semi- adult blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa, by a post-column fluorescent-HPLC system. TTX was found to be present in all body parts, e.g. in high concentrations in the arms followed by the abdomen and cephalothorax. The toxin is not associated exclusively with the posterior salivary gland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we determined the complete mitochondrial genome ofOctopus conispadiceus(Cephalopoda: Octopodidae). The whole mitogenome ofO. conispadiceusis 16,027 basepairs (bp) in length with a base composition of 41.4% A, 34.8% T, 16.1% C, 7.7% G and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and a major non-coding region (MNR). The gene arrangements ofO. conispadiceusshowed remarkable similarity to that ofO. vulgaris, Amphioctopus fangsiao, Cistopus chinensisandC. taiwanicus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information about poisonous animals. First is poison arrow frog. The skin of this frog contains a toxic chemical that sickens or kills any animal that touches or eats it. Second is inland taipan, which is considered the most poisonous snake on earth. The toxin of this snake can cause vomiting and will stop a person from breathing. Third is blue-ringed octopus. The bite of this octopus does not hurt but the neurotoxins in its saliva can cause fever, convulsions, paralysis and death. Other poisonous animals are death stalker scorpion and Sydney funnel-web spider.