Videos used in creating ethograms for Callistoctopus furvus

Callistoctopus furvus (the “eastern” or “sand octopus”) is a relatively unstudied species of nocturnal medium-large octopus inhabiting shallow coastal areas of the tropical western Atlantic. To aid in field identification, promote further study of this species and enhance understanding of skin patterns and behavior of nocturnal shallow water octopuses, we composed an ethogram of C. furvus from photographs and 3.06 hrs of video collected of wild individuals in the natural environment. We cataloged three colors, 17 chromatic components, six groups of skin patterns (divided into 16 sub patterns), three textures, 10 postures and 12 behaviors. Photographs and videos of C. furvus from other geographic areas could be classified using this ethogram, supporting its validity for study of C. furvus throughout its geographic range. Nine features can be used to differentiate this species from co-occurring octopods through observation alone: the front four arms are larger than rear four arms, strict ..., Study Site
Video Collection
Video was collected sporadically between February 28, 2020 and May 4, 2023 around South Caicos by teams of two to six snorkelers or five to nine divers. Between 1930 and 2330 hours, these teams traveled by boat to dive at sites offshore (3-18 m) or snorkeled from shore (0-4 m). They searched seagrass, sand, algal plain, patch reefs and bedrock haphazardly for both Octopus briareus and C. furvus. When one was located, the nearest observer to the octopus began recording using a Nikon CoolPix W300 (resolution 1080 x 1920 res), GoPro Hero 8 (1080 x 1920 res), SeaLife DC1400 (1280 x 720 res) or SeaLife Micro 3.0 camera (1080 x 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 co..., , # 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 were collected in the shallow waters around South Caicos, in the Turks and Caicos Islands between 2020 and 2024. They were used to isolated the colors, skin patterns, textures, postures and behaviors of Callistoctopus furvus by the first author.

The following is a list of the videos and their associated metadata:

| Video Name | Date | light color | Location | Snorkel or Dive? | Depth  | Recording start | Filmer | Individual # of the night | Length of video |
| :--------------- | :---------- | :------------ | :----------------- | :--------------- | :----------- | :-------------- | :------------- | :------------------------ | :-------------- |
| feb 28 Swim Zone | 28-Feb-20 | white | Swim Zone | snorkel | <1m ...