A name from the Bay of Bengal
Hapalochlaena nierstraszi was described from one specimen in 1938. A second was reported off Chennai in 2013.
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Category: Species
The named blue-ringed octopuses, one at a time.
The octopus that draws lines instead of rings
Hapalochlaena fasciata, the blue-lined octopus, lives in shallow water along eastern Australia and warns with stripes.
Read the noteThe southern blue-ringed octopus
Hapalochlaena maculosa lives along southern Australia and Tasmania, deeper than its tropical relative and studied more closely for the way it mates.
Read the noteThe greater blue-ringed octopus
Hapalochlaena lunulata is the tropical species, with larger rings and a range that runs from Sri Lanka to the western Pacific.
Read the noteFour named species, and a list that is still open
Hapalochlaena was named in 1929. Four species are confirmed, and taxonomists still have unnamed animals in view.
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