New record of a female violet blanket octopus (Tremoctopus violaceus, delle Chiaje, 1830) in the Strait of Messina, southern Italy

ABSTRACT

In the present note an adult female of Tremoctopus violaceus delle Chiaje, 1830, is recorded from the Strait of Messina. Species of the family Tremoctopodidae are widely distributed in tropical oceans, but rare in coastal waters. The morphological characteristics coincide with those described by other authors. Necroscopic examination performed did not reveal any peculiar pathology. Morphometrical characteristics, photos and general information are given, expanding the knowledge about these rare cephalopods in Mediterranean basin.

KEYWORDS:

• tremoctopus violaceus
• octopus
• morphology
• Mediterranean Sea

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Authors’ contributions

Sergio Famulari investigation, writing; Serena Savoca writing and review; Giuseppe Panarello data collection; Carmelo Iaria sampling; Nunziacarla Spanò supervision; Gioele Capillo review and supervision.