OCTOPUS ORNATUS GOULD, 1852 (CEPHALOPODA, OCTOPODIDAE) IN AUSTRALIAN WATERS - MORPHOLOGY, DISTRIBUTION, AND LIFE-HISTORY

The morphology, distribution, and life history of the ''white-striped octopus,'' Octopus ornatus Gould, 1852, from Australian waters are rep orted. Information gathered on habitat preferences, activity patterns, foraging behavior and diet also are presented. Australian representat ives of this species are described and compared with the neotype from Hawaiian waters. Prior reports of O. ornatus from Australia refer to a related species, Octopus aspilosomatis Norman, 1993a. Distributional records from Asia, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean are pr esented. The known distribution of O. ornatus extends from Easter Isla nd and the Hawaiian islands, west to eastern Africa. Delineation of O. ornatus from related taxa is discussed.