DOI: 10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb2x
title: Videos used in creating ethograms for Callistoctopus furvus

description: Callistoctopus furvus (the “eastern”or “sand octopus”) is a relatively
 unstudied species of medium-large nocturnal octopus inhabiting
 shallow coastal areas of the tropical western Atlantic. To aid in field
 identification, promote further study of this species and enhance the
 understanding of skin patterning and behaviour in nocturnal shallow-water
 octopuses, we composed an ethogram of C. furvus from photographs
 and 3.11 h of video collected of wild individuals in the natural
 environment. We catalogued two colours, 17 static chromatic components,
 six groups of skin patterns (divided into 16 subpatterns), three textures,
 10 postures and 11 behaviours. Photographs and videos of C.
 furvus from other geographic areas could be classified using this
 ethogram, supporting its validity for the study of C. furvus throughout
 its geographic range. We also described eight features that can
 be used to differentiate C. furvus from co-occurring octopods
 through observation alone: strict nocturnality, brick red incorporated
 into most skin patterns and rows of regularly spaced white spots that are
 always at least faintly visible on the arms, a polka-dotted deimatic
 pattern, large “U”-shaped papillae on the mantle, six distinct mantle
 shapes, a shallow arm web, the execution of very few “parachute attacks”
 and a tendency to enter existing holes or bury itself in response to
 disturbance. Notable features include the use of at least one
 “dynamic”chromatic component, a putative masquerade as algae, and
 potential mimicry of trumpetfish or cornetfish. Greater observation and
 study of C. furvus and other octopods from a diversity
 of habitats, latitudes and temporal niches will enhance our understanding
 of how these factors have shaped the use of colours body
 patterning and behaviour of this unique group of molluscs.
description: <strong>Study site</strong><br>This study was
 conducted at 10 sites less than 1.5 km offshore of the southern and
 southwestern coasts of South Caicos (21.7 ◦N, 71.8 ◦W) in the Turks and
 Caicos Islands. These islands lie at the southeastern end of the Lucayan
 archipelago on shallow (&lt; 20 m) carbonate banks. Salinity ranges
 from 36.4 to 36.5 ppt (Jury, 2013) and sea surface temperatures range from
 22◦C to 28◦C according to season (Logan & Sealey, 2013). The
 predominant substrates at these sites are patch reefs, limestone bedrock,
 sandy plains and seagrass (O’Brien et al., 2023).
 <strong>Video collection</strong><br>Video was
 collected sporadically between 28 February 2020 and 4 May 2023 around
 South Caicos by teams of two to six snorkelers or five to nine divers.
 Between 19:30 and 23:30 h, these teams travelled by boat to dive at sites
 offshore (3–18 m) or snorkelled from shore (0–4 m). They searched
 seagrass, sand, algal plain, patch reefs and bedrock haphazardly for both
 <em>Octopus briareus</em> and <em>Callistoctopus
 furvus</em>. When one was located, the nearest observer to the
 octopus began recording using a Nikon CoolPix W300 (resolution 1080 ×1920
 res), GoPro Hero 8 (1080 ×1920 res), SeaLife DC1400 (1280 ×720 res) or
 SeaLife Micro 3.0 camera (1080 ×1920 res), illuminated by the 25% setting
 of a 2000–3000 lumen SeaDragon photo/video light (2000F, 2500F or 3000F).
 The videographer conducted a continuous focal-follow and recording of the
 octopus until it disappeared from view, the camera or dive light battery
 died or time and/or air constraints forced the end of the excursion. Over
 the course of 4 years, a total of 3.11 h of footage of 27–35 individuals
 estimated to be between 7 and 15 cm mantle length (ML) was collected.
 Since octopuses were not measured or tagged to avoid interfering with
 natural behaviour, estimations of the number of distinct individuals
 sampled are based on identifying features such as wounds, relative size
 (based on visual comparison with objects in the surrounding environment)
 and the location of sighting. Some individuals were filmed once; others
 were filmed multiple times over a single or multiple evenings. Videos
 lasted for a median [interquartile range (IQR)] of 51 s (89 s), with the
 minimum time that any particular individual was filmed being 5 s and the
 maximum being 7 min 11 s. <strong>Video
 analysis</strong><br>To derive an ethogram of <em>C.
 furvus</em>, we utilized the framework and terminology of Packard
 & Sanders (1971) and Packard & Hochberg (1977), and
 synthesized by Mather & Alupay (2016) and Hanlon &
 Messenger (2018), summarized in Figure 1 below. Briefly, the overall
 appearance, termed “body pattern”, is composed of four levels of
 constituent parts that graduate in size: elements combine to compose
 units, units make up components and the combination of components on all
 body regions is what creates the overall body pattern. The constituent
 parts include aspects of body texture, posture, behaviour and the overall
 arrangement of colour and iridescence of the skin, hereafter referred to
 as “skin pattern”to distinguish it from “body pattern”. The first author
 reviewed all footage (3 h and 6.60 min) three or more times and isolated
 each unique skin pattern, texture, posture and behaviour expr essed until
 no new ones could be isolated. Skin patterns were then described and
 named, and screenshots of each (three or more for each pattern) were
 collected and used to identify, name and describe the individual colours
 and chromatic components that composed them. Textures, postures and
 behaviours were also described and named. Identification of textural,
 postural and locomotor components was not attempted due to difficulty in
 dis- cerning such fine details under the uncontrolled nocturnal filming
 conditions and the frequent obstruction of body regions by other body
 parts. Whenever possible, terminology from previous octopus behavioural
 studies (e.g. Hanlon & Wolterding, 1989; Leite & Mather,
 2008; Mather & Alupay, 2016) was used. Where no precedent existed,
 we devised our own names based on colour and shape or resemblance to known
 objects or patterns. According to standard convention, chromatic
 components were written with the first letter of the first word
 capitalized, while skin pattern, texture, posture and behaviour names were
 indicated by capitalizing the first letter of each word.
 Octopuses express chromatic components, skin patterns and
 textures on a continuum of intensity, from small and/or barely visible to
 large and/or highly contrasting, and this intensity of expression can vary
 across different body parts (Packard & Hochberg, 1977). To account
 for this, we have listed the chromatic components observed on eight
 regions of the body that were noted to differ from contiguous regions: the
 dorsal mantle, funnel, head, arms bases (the area between the head and the
 arms where the arms diver ge from the rest of the body), arms and web, eye
 bulbs, eye and ventral arm area. Because it was rarely visible, we did not
 attempt to categorize the ventral mantle. Most chromatic components are
 “static”, meaning that they consist of relatively fixed displays of
 colours and patterns that are displayed for seconds to minutes, but some
 can be “dynamic”, incorporating flashing or strobing through the
 coordinated action of chromatophores, producing expressions that occur
 over fractions of a second (How et al., 2017). To validate the ethogram,
 the second author independently analysed the same video sequences to
 confirm that the appearance of the octopus could be classified according
 to the categories established by the first author in all of the footage.
 Videos were analysed second by second in this manner from the first second
 (0) to the last second of the video, resulting in a total of 11,201
 frames. Any frame that did not match an existing description was described
 and added to the ethogram. <strong>Collection and
 analysis of internet media</strong><br>In order to determine
 if the chromatic components, skin patterns, textures, postures and
 behaviours identified in our examina tion occur species-wide or are unique
 to the Turks and Caicos population, both authors independently classified
 components, skin patterns, textures, postures and behaviours in
 photographs and videos of <em>C. furvus</em> sourced from the
 internet. Photographs were collected via several means. Eleven photos were
 sent to us by colleagues from Brazil (J. Voix and Dr M. de Jesus), while
 eight others were published in Jesus et al. (2021, 2022). Ten videos taken
 in South Florida and the Virgin Islands (2021–2024) were obtained with
 permission from photographer Dr R. Fonseca. Twelve photographs taken
 around Lee Stocking Island in the Bahamas (2009) were obtained with
 permission from photographer Dr P. Lyons. Forty-five images were found
 using Google image search (accessed 2 October 2020 and 27 October 2023)
 with the search terms “<em>Callistoctopus furvus</em>”
 “<em>Callistoctopus macropus</em>”, “<em>Octopus
 macropus</em>” (<em>C. furvus</em> is commonly
 misidentified with these names) and “white-spotted octopus” and using
 images that were labelled as from the western Atlantic. We also procured
 14 photographs from the wildlife observation website iNaturalist (3
 October 2023) using the search term “<em>Callistoctopus
 macropus</em>” (“<em>Callistoctopus furvus</em>”
 redirects to “<em>Callistoctopus macropus</em>”) and selecting
 all of the photographs taken in the western Atlantic. A single video was
 found on YouTube (2 November 2023) using the search terms
 <em>“Callistoctopus furvus</em>” “<em>Callistoctopus
 macropus</em>”, “<em>Octopus macropus</em>” and “white
 spotted octopus” and selecting any recorded in the western Atlantic. We
 also solicited media via FASTMOLL, an email listserv for cephalopod
 researchers, and received six photos and four videos (02:10) from Dr P.
 Sanchez from the Gulf of Mexico. <strong>Ethical
 note</strong><br>Permission to conduct these observations was
 granted by the Turks and Caicos Department of Environment and Coastal
 Resources (DECR; permits D2-001,2023-03-30-17 and 2024-02-13-05). Our
 minimally invasive method (filming) limited the impact of the study on the
 animals involved by recording individuals in their natural environment and
 never capturing or handling them. Our presence and lights disturbed the
 surrounding wildlife to some degree, but the fact that we never spent
 longer than an hour at any site limited this impact.
description: # Videos used in creating ethograms for Callistoctopus furvus
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb2x](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb2x) ## Description of the data and file structure These videos (located on Zenodo - see Related Works) were collected in the shallow waters around South Caicos, in the Turks and Caicos Islands between 2020 and 2024. They were used to isolate the colors, skin patterns, textures, postures, and behaviors of *Callistoctopus furvus* by the first author. A list of the videos and their associated metadata can be found in "Analysis of furvus videos Metadata.csv". The data are broken up by year of filming ("Analysis of furvus videos 2020.csv," "Analysis of furvus videos 2021.csv," "Analysis of furvus videos 2022.csv" and "Analysis of furvus videos 2023.csv"). The following is a key to the terms and abbreviations used, also found in "Analysis of furvus videos Descriptions.csv": | Metadata Columns | Description | | :------------------------ | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Date | Date video was recorded | | light color | Color of 2000-3000 lumen SeaDragon underwater light (white, red or both) | | Video Name | Name of video file | | Location | Site of observation | | Snorkel or Dive? | Activity of researchers | | Depth  | Water depth, often estimated | | Recording start | Start time of recording | | Filmer | Name of person recording | | Individual # of the night | Individual's order among all the individuals seen that night (first, second, third) | | Length of video | hours: minutes : seconds | | Notes | Notable context, behaviors, or environmental notes | | | | | Data Columns | Description | | Date | Date video was recorded | | Video name | Name of video from various underwater cameras | | Filmer | Name of person recording | | Individual # of the night | Individual's order among all the individuals seen that night (first, second, third) | | Video start time | Time filming commenced | | Second | Second of video | | Skin Pattern | Which of 6 skin patterns (divided into 16 subcategories) displayed by octopus (Brick Red, Brick Red with Central White Arm Base Blotch, Brick Red with Three Central White Mantle and Arm Base Blotches, Brick Red with Three Central White Mantle and Arm Base Blotches and White Arm Bars, Brick Red with Three Central White Mantle and Arm Bases Blotches and White and Brick Red Arm Bars, Racing Stripe with Brick Red Dorsal Arms; Racing Stripe with White Arms, Mostly White with Sparse Brick Red Mantle and Arm Base Blotches and Brick Red Arm Bars, Mostly White with Intense Brick Red Mantle and Arm Base Blotches and Brick Red Arm Bars, Mottle (sparsely to intensely expressed), Stippled, Stippled with Rows of White Spots and Brick Red Blotches on Arm Bases, Polka Dotted, Polka Dotted with Brick Red Blotches on Mantle and Arm Bases) | | Texture | Which of 3 textures displayed by octopus (smooth, coarse or papillate) | | Posture | Which of 10 postures displayed by octopus (deimatic arm spread, elongated, flamboyant, flower pose, momentum posture, gnome, parachute, spread arms or torpedo) | | Behavior | Which of 12 behaviors displayed by octopus (Arm Exploration, Attempted Arm Capture, Bipedal Locomotion, Burying, Crawling, Entering Hole, Grooming, Jetting, Parachute Attack, Prey Handling or Stationary) | | Substrate Type | Substrate occupied by octopus (rock, algae, seagrass, sand, dead coral, etc.) | | Substrate Color | Substrate color (tan, brown, green, red, gray, light green, light brown, or combinations) | | Prey | What organism/species octopus captured or attempted to capture, if applicable | | Notes | Notes on notable context, morphology, or environmental factors | | | | | Site Name | Description | | Admiral's Aquarium | Shallow coral patch reef, surrounded by sandy plains and seagrass between Long Cay and South Caicos | | Cox Hotel | Shoreline fringe reef surrounded by sand and seagrass | | Dove Cay | Limestone bedrock, patch reef and sandy plain off the north coast of Dove Cay | | Fish Rock | Shallow carbonate bank composed limestone bedrock off the coast of South Caicos | | Hotel Beach | Shallow carbonate bank composed of limestone bedrock, sandy plais, and seagrass off the coast of South Caicos | | North Street Beach | Large rocky rubble | | Old dock | An artificial cement pier | | Regatta | Mixed limestone bedrock, rubble, patch reef, sandy plains, and seagrass off the coast of South Caicos near a popular pier | | Shark Alley Lagoon | Sandy plains, patch reef and seagrass off the northeastern tip of Long Cay  | | Swim Zone | Limestone bedrock, patch reef, sandy plains, and seagrass off the coast of South Caicos between cement piers | | Tucker's Reef | Shallow patch reef, limestone bedrock, sandy plains, and seagrass off the coast of South Caicos | ### Version changes **3-Feb-2025:** **Skin Pattern name in final manuscript Skin Pattern name during data collection** 1a.) Brick Red (whole body) brick red with white arm spots 1b.) Brick Red with Central White Arm Base Blotch brick red with white heart and arm spots 1c.) Brick Red with Three Central White Mantle and Arm Base Blotches brick red hood and arms with three white elements 1d.) Brick Red with Three Central White Mantle and Arm Base Blotches and White Arm Bars brick red hood and arms with three faint white elements and white arm bars 1d.) Brick Red with Three Central White Mantle and Arm Base Blotches and White Arm Bars brick red hood and arms with three white elements and white arm bars 1e.) Brick Red with Three Central White Mantle and Arm Bases Blotches and White and Brick Red Arm Bars brick red hood with three white elements and white and brick red arm bars, smooth to papillae 2a.) Racing Stripe with Brick Red Front Dorsal Four Arms racing stripe with brick red front four arms 2b.) Racing Stripe with White Arms racing stripe with white arms 3a.) Mostly White with Sparse Brick Red Mantle and Arm Base Blotches and Brick Red Arm Bars Mostly white mantle and arm bases with brick red elements, white arms with brick red arm bars 3b.) Mostly White with Intense Brick Red Mantle and Arm Base Blotches and Brick Red Arm Bars brick red hood with three white elements, white arms and sparse brick red arm bars 4a.) Mottle (sparse) sparse mottle 4b.) Mottle (intense) intense mottle 5a.) Stippled (whole body) stippled 5b.) Stippled with Rows of White Spots stippled with moderate white spots 5c.) Stippled with Rows of White Spots and Brick Red Blotches on Arm Bases stippled with mottle on arm bases 6a.) Polka Dotted polka dotted 6b.) Polka Dotted with Brick Red Blotches on Mantle and Arm Bases brick red with moderate white spots **7-Jul-2025:** We converted the Excel file showing data analysis into multiple .csv files at the request of the Dryad data curator. Additionally, we added several "Supplementary" files to Zenodo (eight videos, one Excel, one PDF, and two photos) at the request of the journal editor as our files are too large to be accommodated by the journal.