Tremoctopus violaceus

Colin

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OK, now I'm confused. I always thought this animal brooded eggs/embryos. Now there's a report of an egg mass being deposited (I would have said aborted, but hatching indicates viability).

This is most interesting - possible duel reproductive strategies.

O
 
I was just hunting through some junk here and found a couple of pencils of the NZ species, T. robsonianus. I never did ink them and now they're quite aged/discoloured.

I'm still struck by the fact that this octopus deposited eggs to something, as they do incubate/brood within the distal oviducts ... at least in the New Zealand species.
 

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Also found these of a related thing, Ocythoe tuberculata. The female gets huge, to over a metre in TL, whereas the male fits in the palm of your hand; never did finish either! (female on the left, with the mantle quite warty on the ventral surface; the male has the hectocotylus enclosed in that pouch)
 

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Used to Nancy; mum has hoarded all of this stuff I did as a young teen - full water colours. I look at it today and I wonder how I ever did it. If I ever walk from all of this and just go bush, or sit on an island, perhaps I'll start again. I've been looking for illustrations that I could use for a book here. The best stuff is now ~ 20 years old. Here's one that was supposed to have been published in a paper .... but I forgot to send the illustration and it was published without it. Hmmmmmm.:hmm: Thaumeledone zeiss, probably our most rare species of benthic octopodid; unlike me to actually finish one (I've had to reduce the resolution, so the pixels blur ... it's a lot better than it looks here)!

Years ago when I was doing these you couldn't photocopy/scan pencil well enough to actually use them in publications, so I did everything twice, pretty much - although the pencil was always better than the inkings.
 

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