The shallow-water octopuses of the Philippines are diagnosed on the ba
sis of material collected in a series of expeditions by the Smithsonia
n Institution to the region between 1978 and 1990. Twenty species of s
hallow-water octopuses are recognised, 18 in the genus Octopus, and on
e species each in the genera Hapalochlaena and Cistopus. Three new spe
cies are described from Philippine waters: Octopus abaculus, O. noctur
nus and O. pumilus. Octopuses reported in the earlier work of G. L. Vo
ss on the cephalopod fauna of the Philippines are reviewed and identif
ications updated. A diagnostic key and illustrations are provided alon
g with information on taxonomy, distribution, aspects of life history
and importance in fisheries.