Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic Sea
Tremoctopods are epipelagic argonautoid octopods characterized by their expanded dorsal webs and strong sexual size dimorphism, with dwarfed males. The scarcity of taxonomic features attributed to this genus presents a challenge, and there is growing evidence of species misidentification in <i>...
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/6/794 |
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| author | Mirela Petrić Branko Dragičević Rino Stanić Željka Trumbić |
| author_facet | Mirela Petrić Branko Dragičević Rino Stanić Željka Trumbić |
| author_sort | Mirela Petrić |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tremoctopods are epipelagic argonautoid octopods characterized by their expanded dorsal webs and strong sexual size dimorphism, with dwarfed males. The scarcity of taxonomic features attributed to this genus presents a challenge, and there is growing evidence of species misidentification in <i>Tremoctopus</i> genus on a molecular level. In this study, we investigated four female specimens of blanket octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> caught by purse seine fishing in the Central Eastern Adriatic Sea in 2019. Individuals had smooth, firm and muscular bodies, dark bluish purple on the dorsal and iridescent silvery on the ventral side, with dorsal mantle lengths of 113, 82, 80 and 78 mm. The constructed phylogenetic trees based on the 16S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences of investigated Adriatic specimens and publicly available sequences showed strong support for the <i>T. violaceus</i> clade, consisting of individuals collected from the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, with the exclusion of Indo-Pacific clade most probably corresponding to <i>T. gracilis</i>. To fully understand the life-history traits of <i>Tremoctopus</i> species, future research should focus on DNA-based methods for correct species identification combined with morphological characters, geographic distribution and ecological information. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:33:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c734cb85ace48dd8fdf400544782d9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:33:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj.art-8c734cb85ace48dd8fdf400544782d9c2023-11-18T10:03:35ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-06-0115679410.3390/d15060794Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic SeaMirela Petrić0Branko Dragičević1Rino Stanić2Željka Trumbić3Department of Marine Studies, University of Split, 21000 Split, CroatiaInstitute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, CroatiaMlin I 32, 21405 Milna, CroatiaDepartment of Marine Studies, University of Split, 21000 Split, CroatiaTremoctopods are epipelagic argonautoid octopods characterized by their expanded dorsal webs and strong sexual size dimorphism, with dwarfed males. The scarcity of taxonomic features attributed to this genus presents a challenge, and there is growing evidence of species misidentification in <i>Tremoctopus</i> genus on a molecular level. In this study, we investigated four female specimens of blanket octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> caught by purse seine fishing in the Central Eastern Adriatic Sea in 2019. Individuals had smooth, firm and muscular bodies, dark bluish purple on the dorsal and iridescent silvery on the ventral side, with dorsal mantle lengths of 113, 82, 80 and 78 mm. The constructed phylogenetic trees based on the 16S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences of investigated Adriatic specimens and publicly available sequences showed strong support for the <i>T. violaceus</i> clade, consisting of individuals collected from the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, with the exclusion of Indo-Pacific clade most probably corresponding to <i>T. gracilis</i>. To fully understand the life-history traits of <i>Tremoctopus</i> species, future research should focus on DNA-based methods for correct species identification combined with morphological characters, geographic distribution and ecological information.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/6/794octopods16S rRNACOIphylogenymorphometryAdriatic |
| spellingShingle | Mirela Petrić Branko Dragičević Rino Stanić Željka Trumbić Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic Sea Diversity octopods 16S rRNA COI phylogeny morphometry Adriatic |
| title | Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic Sea |
| title_full | Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic Sea |
| title_fullStr | Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic Sea |
| title_short | Morphological Characteristics and DNA Barcoding of the Rare Blanket Octopus <i>Tremoctopus violaceus</i> (Cephalopoda: Tremoctopodidae) in the Adriatic Sea |
| title_sort | morphological characteristics and dna barcoding of the rare blanket octopus i tremoctopus violaceus i cephalopoda tremoctopodidae in the adriatic sea |
| topic | octopods 16S rRNA COI phylogeny morphometry Adriatic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/6/794 |
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