Reproductive biology of the musky octopus Eledone moschata (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt

The current study was designed to address the lack of information regarding the reproduction biology of the musky octopus, Eledone moschata, in the Mediterranean Sea. The work presents the first detailed study of seasonal variation in sexual maturity and age determination using length- frequency analysis. The length-frequency analysis in both male and female samples revealed 2 modes that are assumed to be 2 years classes. Eggs number per ovary weight (g) showed a significant differences among seasons (P = 0.001), with peak fecundity occurring during the winter followed by a progressive decline in spring through fall. The GSI values also showed similar results where the index value was higher in winter and then declined in the following seasons. This indicates that the spawning season of the musky octopus may occur in the summer and may extend to the fall of the same year. The musky octopus is dioecious. The male were found to reach sexual maturity earlier than the female tissues. The 50% sexual maturity level was reached at 7.2 cm CL for males and 7.4 cm CL mm for females.