Callistoctopus
Callistoctopus is a genus of nocturnal, orange octopuses in the family Octopodidae. They are readily identifiable by their reddish coloring, the white papillae that line their bodies, and their long arms. Though sympatric with diurnal Octopus species, they avoid competition by hunting at night. In acknowledgement of this preference, many species of Callistoctopus are referred to as night octopuses. Well-known species include C. macropus and the type species C. ornatus, both of which are harvested for human consumption as seafood.
Species
Callistoctopus bunurong – southern white-spot octopusCallistoctopus furvus Callistoctopus gracilis Y. Tang, X.-D. Zheng & C.-C. Lu, 2024Callistoctopus lechenaultii Callistoctopus luteus – starry night octopus Callistoctopus nocturnus Callistoctopus paucilamellus Y. Tang, X.-D. Zheng & C.-C. Lu, 2024Callistoctopus rapanui Callistoctopus sparsus Y. Tang, X.-D. Zheng & C.-C. Lu, 2024Callistoctopus tenuipes J.-H. Li, C-.X. Xu & X.-D. Zheng, 2022Callistoctopus xiaohongxu X.-D. Zheng, C.-X. Xu & J.-H. Li, 2022;Species brought into synonymy:Callistoctopus alpheus – Capricorn night octopus: synonym of Pinnoctopus alpheusCallistoctopus arakawai : synonym of Callistoctopus ornatus Callistoctopus aspilosomatis – plainbody night octopus: synonym of Pinnoctopus aspilosomatisCallistoctopus dierythraeus – red-spot night octopus: synonym of Pinnoctopus dierythraeusCallistoctopus graptus – scribbled night octopus: synonym of Pinnoctopus graptusCallistoctopus macropus – Atlantic white-spotted octopus: synonym of Pinnoctopus macropusCallistoctopus magnocellatus : synonym of Octopus cyanea Gray, 1849Callistoctopus ornatus – ornate octopus: synonym of Pinnoctopus ornatus
;Taxa inquirenda:Callistoctopus taprobanensis
Below is a maximum likelihood phylogeny of Callistoctopus based on mitochondrial COI genes: