Tiny Octopus With Mistaken Identity Described As New Species [Photo]

Scientists have discovered a new-to-science octopus species in China. The tiny creature has been known to locals for years — but as another species.

In their paper, published in Zookeys earlier this week, researchers described the new species as "small to moderate-sized" with distinctive "reddish-orange" or "reddish-brown" skin.

Interestingly, the creature has already been known to locals and fishermen for quite a while. However, it hasn't been described as it has been mistaken and sold in the fish market as a juvenile of another species, the Octopus minor (common long-arm octopus), the trade of which is quite widespread across China, according to Pensoft Publishers.

For their study, the researchers collected samples from the Dongshan Seafood Market Pier in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China. Indeed, they spotted key differences between the new species and the species it has been mistaken for all along.

"(B)ased on the obvious differences in the size of the adult animals, gill lamellae number, and the funnel organ shape, we can readily distinguish this new species from 'O.' minor externally," the researchers wrote.

Even in its adult stage, the species is still just less than 40 grams, according to Pensoft. One can see how small it is, and perhaps why it has been mistaken for a juvenile of another species, in a photo shared by Zookeys.

Apart from the physical differences, genetic analysis revealed that it is also quite distinct from other species, though it does have a "close relationship" with the O. minor, as well as four other Callistoctopus species.

All in all, this suggests that the supposed juvenile is actually a distinct species of its own. The researchers named it Callistoctopus xiaohongxu, with xiaohongxu being the phonetic translation of the Chinese name that the locals have for it, referring to its reddish color and small size. Information from fishermen suggests it can be found in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

The description of the new species now adds one more to the only two Callistoctopus species recorded in Chinese waters: the C. ornatus and the C. luteus. It also adds to the vast diversity of cephalopods in China's seas, which host over 130 cephalopod species.

"We are planning to analyze the mitochondrial genome of C. xiaohongxu sp. nov. in the future," the researchers wrote. "Better taxon sampling would facilitate a better understanding of octopod phylogeny as well as a better substantiated generic assignment of C. xiaohongxu sp. nov."