Historically, commercial landings of the artisanal fishery operating in the Veracruz Reef System (VRS, southwestern Gulf of Mexico) have been assigned to Octopus vulgaris. Despite the importance of proper identification of commercially valuable species, to date, no studies including both morphological and genetic data have been performed in the VRS to test that assumption. Hence, to assess this
... [Show full abstract] matter, the aim of this study was to determine the identity of the species using an integrative taxonomic approach through morphological and genetic analyses.