Reproductive strategy of deep-sea and Antarctic octopods of the genera Graneledone, Adelieledone and Muusoctopus (Mollusca: Cephalopoda)

Abstract

Reproductive systems of spent brooding octopodid females of Muusoctopus longi - brachus akambei, Adelieledone polymorpha and Graneledone macrotyla (Eledoninae) were collected in Southwest Atlantic and Antarctic waters. Their study demonstrated that the size distribution of post-ovulatory follicles (POF) is mostly unimodal, suggesting that they only lay 1 batch of eggs. These data, together with a reevaluation of the literature, revealed that deep-sea and polar benthic octopods are generally not multiple spawners. Females spawn a single egg mass simultaneously or as a series of several consequent mini-batches separated by short periods of time, making it difficult to distinguish them by either size or condition of their POF. Analysis of the length-frequency distribution of POF is a useful tool to reconstruct the spawning history of brooding females of cold-water octopods. © Inter-Research 2013.