AB 18:21-29 (2013)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00486

ABSTRACT: Reproductive systems of spent brooding octopodid females of Muusoctopus longibrachus 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.

KEY WORDS: Octopus · Spawning · Post-ovulatory follicle · POF · Reproductive strategy · Deep sea · Antarctic