Genome skimming elucidates the evolutionary history of Octopoda.

Phylogenies for Octopoda have, until now, been based on morphological characters or a few genes. Here we provide the complete mitogenomes and the nuclear 18S and 28S ribosomal genes of twenty Octopoda specimens, comprising 18 species of Cirrata and Incirrata, representing 13 genera and all five putative families of Cirrata (Cirroctopodidae, Cirroteuthidae, Grimpoteuthidae, Opisthoteuthidae and Stauroteuthidae) and six families of Incirrata (Amphitretidae, Argonautidae, Bathypolypodidae, Eledonidae, Enteroctopodidae, and Megaleledonidae) which were assembled using genome skimming. Phylogenetic trees were built using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference with several alignment matrices. All mitochondrial genomes had the 'typical' genome composition and gene order previously reported for octopodiforms, except Bathypolypus ergasticus, which appears to lack ND5, two tRNA genes that flank ND5 and two other tRNA genes. Argonautoidea was revealed as sister to Octopodidae by the mitochondrial protein-coding gene dataset, however, it was recovered as sister to all other incirrate octopods with strong support in an analysis using nuclear rRNA genes. Within Cirrata, our study supports two existing classifications suggesting neither is likely in conflict with the true evolutionary history of the suborder. Genome skimming is useful in the analysis of phylogenetic relationships within Octopoda; inclusion of both mitochondrial and nuclear data may be key.

Egg brooding by deep-sea octopuses in the North Pacific Ocean.

Videotapes made from the submersible Alvin on Baby Bare, a 2600-m-deep North Pacific basalt outcrop, and at two other deep-sea localities document that octopuses of the genera Graneledone and Benthoctopus attach their eggs to hard substrate and apparently brood them through development. The behavior of brooding females was generally similar to that of shallow-water octopuses, but the genera showed apparent differences. In addition to the high density of brooding females observed at Baby Bare, which may relate to the increased availability of exposed hard substrates for egg attachment and of prey, females are suggested to increasingly associate with hard substrates as they mature. The biology of Baby Bare may seem unduly unique because the outcrop is isolated on a sedimented plain and is among the few exposures of hard substrate other than hydrothermal vents that have been explored by submersible. On the sediment-covered ocean floor, the availability of hard substrate may strongly affect the distribution of brooding octopuses. The size and shape of boreholes in 19 of over 400 thyasirid clam shells collected from Baby Bare support the hypothesis that octopuses had preyed upon the clams.

Sexual Dimorphism and Niche Divergence in a Mid-Water Octopod (Cephalopoda: Bolitaenidae).

In the translucent mid-water octopod Eledonella pygmaea, the posterior salivary glands that release proteolytic enzymes into the esophageal crop grow five times faster in males than in females. I suggest that the sexes vertically partition the water column and that large glands have evolved in males as a result of their deepwater habitat. Members of the species undergo ontogenetic vertical descent and are suggested to mate at the lower end of the adult depth range where receptive females signal males with light organs. Selection for increased fitness is inferred to result in females increasing their fecundity by feeding at the upper limit of the adult range and in mature males increasing their encounters with mates by living at depths where mating occurs. To further increase their fitness, mature males--despite occurring in a prey-limited habitat--must expend energy to visually detect potential mates, to travel over wide areas, and to attempt to copulate. To increase the energy available to them, males at depth may exploit bioluminescent prey. The large glands protect the translucent males from increased predation by physically blocking light emitted by bioluminescent prey in their crops, and by speeding digestion.