In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

The Marine Flora and Fauna ofHong Kong and Southern China IV (ed. B. Morton). Proceedings of the Eighth International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Hong Kong and Southern China, Hong Kong, 2-20 April 1995. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1997. HONG KONG CEPHALOPODA: A BRIEF REVIEW OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIMENS COLLECTED IN 1995 Ian G. Gleadall Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Katahira SKK Building, Sendai 980-77, Japan. ABSTRACT An update is given of the cephalopod species occurring in Hong Kong waters, with first reports of the sepiolids Euprymna stenodactyla and Inioteuthis sp. Among the points discussed are: (i), confirmation that the inaptly named Octopus hongkongensis is restricted to cold waters off Japan; (ii), clarification of an earlier report on the presence of Hapalochlaena cf.jasciata in the northwestern Pacific; (iii), identification of the largeegged ocellate octopus, Octopus fangsiao and (iv), identification of Octopus sp. B Voss and Williamson (1972) as Octopus cf.fusiformis Brock. A dichotomous key is provided to aid identification of representatives of the Octopodidae. INTRODUCTION This report is the third to deal exclusively with the systematics of cephalopods collected in Hong Kong waters, the first two being Voss and Williamson (1972) and Norman and Hochberg (1994). The book by Voss and Williamson includes keys to the Hong Kong species of Sepia, Loligo and Octopus. Norman and Hochberg reviewed works reporting on the fauna of adjacent Chinese waters and updated identifications for the octopods. Although not documented directly, cephalopod specimens were first taken from Hong Kong for preservation as museum specimens in 1846, during the Danish Galathea Expedition (Bille 1849) and are the source of the octopus specimens of Steenstrup mentioned by Norman and Hochberg (1994). These include the first Hong Kong specimens of the large-egged ocellate octopus here identified as Octopus fangsiao (see Discussion). Octopus hongkongensis Hoyle, 1885, was described as a new species, based on a single specimen taken from Sagami Bay (Tokyo, Japan) during the Challenger Expedition. The only specimens conspecific with Octopus hongkongensis Hoyle have been collected off the Pacific coast of Japan: all other specimens of Octopus (also under 504 I.G.GLEADALL Paroctopus or Polypus) hongkongensis, reported from Hong Kong (Hoyle 1886), India (Massy 1916; Robson 1929; Adam 1939) and North America (Berry 1911, 1912a, b), have now been excluded (Gleadall, 1993a, b and unpublished research). Hoyle (1886) explained that his choice of the specific name hongkongensis arose after visiting Steenstrup in Copenhagen. There, he saw four specimens from Hong Kong that he erroneously took to be juveniles of the Japanese species. In the same paper, Hoyle identified Octopus hongkongensis as a synonym of the Western North American giant octopus, Octopus punctatus Gabb, 1862. This name, however, was later regarded as preoccupied (not Octopus punctatus Blainville [= Ocythoe punctata]) so O. hongkongensis became accepted as the next available name and was used (until the late 1960s in Japan) to identify the North Pacific giant octopus. The latter is now known as Octopus dofleini (Wtilker 1910) and has recently been clearly distinguished from O. hongkongensis for the first time (Gleadall 1993a, band redescriptions in prep.). The four small Hong Kong specimens in Copenhagen mentioned by Hoyle (1886) are adults of a third species (Gleadall in prep.). Both the earlier reports on Hong Kong cephalopods were based mainly on specimens collected by G.R. Williamson for the Fish Marketing Organization of Hong Kong. This material was listed in detail by Norman and Hochberg (1994), who also included identifications for material collected by P.H Scott in 1992. Williamson's material is deposited mostly in the University of Miami Marine Laboratory (UMML); Scott's material is in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH). The aim of the present paper is to use new research findings and new material to: (i), update the list of cephalopod species occurring in Hong Kong waters and (ii), comment on previous accounts of and provide a key to the Hong Kong Octopodidae. MATERIALS AND METHODS Included in the present study is previously undescribed material collected by Williamson that was retrieved by I.G. Gleadall and B. Morton from the Fisheries Research Station, Aberdeen, Hong Kong, in January 1993. It now forms part of the University of Hong Kong Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS) Cephalopoda reference collection, along with the material collected during April 1995. In 1995, paired beam trawls (25 mm cod-end mesh, hauled at 2.25 knots for 10 minutes bottom time) were...

Share