The Lesser Blue-ringed Octopus, H. maculosa This species is found only in the temperate waters of southern Australia, from southern Western Australia to eastern Victoria. It is also a small species, mantle length to 57 mm. The dorsal surface of the mantle usually has a rough appearance covered by numerous irregularly arranged wrinkles. There are also fine, unevenly sized tubercles covering the head and mantle. While resting, the background color is a uniform grey to beige, with large, light brown patches or maculae - thus the name H. maculosa.
Smaller patches dot the web and base of the arms.
All eight arms are marked with approximately 10 evenly spaced brown patches that form a bands running down the arms. The blue rings are usually not visible in animals at rest. When the octopus is agitated, the brown patches darken dramatically, and iridescent blue rings or clumps of rings appear and pulsate within the maculae. Typically 50 to 60 blue rings cover the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the mantle. This small octopus has a mantle length to 45 mm and is found in southeastern Australia from southern New South Wales to southern Queensland.