| Musky octopus | |
|---|---|
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| Museum model of Eledone moschata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Family: | Eledonidae |
| Genus: | Eledone |
| Species: | E. moschata |
| Binomial name | |
| Eledone moschata | |
| Synonyms [3] | |
| |
Eledone moschata, the musky octopus, is a species of octopus belonging to the family Octopodidae.
The skin of the single specimen of Eledone microsicya is very similar to the skin of Eledone moschata [4] and some authorities take the view that E. microsicya is not a valid taxon and represents a Red Sea population of the otherwise Mediteraranean E. moschata with which it should synonymised. [5]
The musky octopus is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea, and is occasionally found in adjacent parts of the Atlantic Ocean, around the Gulf of Cadiz and off the coast of Portugal. [6] [7] [8]
The musky octopus occurs on the sandy bottom of the continental platform, at depths up to 400 meters. Usually it lives burrowed into the sediments. [8]
The largest recorded musky octopus was a male with a mantle length of 188 millimetres (7.4 in), a total length of 740 mm (29 in) and a mass of 1,414 grams (3.1 lb), caught in the Gulf of İzmir (Gulf of Smyrna), in the Aegean Sea. This small species has a head smaller than the body, with protruding eyes. The eight tentacles are relatively short and have one row of suckers. The third right arm (called Hectocotylus) is specialized to store and transfer spermatophores to the female. The basic color of the body is gray-brown, with dark, brown to blackish spots. [8]
Eledone moschata is closely related to the horned octopus, Eledone cirrhosa , but can be distinguished by a number of features; for example, E. moschata has smooth skin and smells of musk, while E. cirrhosa has warty skin and no musky odour. [9]
The musky octopus feeds on a wide variety of crustaceans, molluscs and fish. Crustaceans are preferred, and species known to be eaten by E. moschata include Maja squinado , Maja crispata , Macropodia rostrata , Macropodia longirostris , Pisa tetraodon , Dorippe lanata , Lissa chiragra , Lambrus angulifrons , Lambrus massena , Inachus dorsettensis , Carcinus aestuarii , Pachygrapsus marmoratus , Xantho poressa , Pilumnus hirtellus , Goneplax rhomboides , Pagurus prideaux , Ilia nucleus and Squilla mantis ; molluscs consumed by E., moschata include Chlamys varia , Mytilus galloprovincialis , Sepia orbignyana , Illex coindetii , Loligo subulata ; E. moschata also eats the fish Engraulis encrasicolus , Sardina pilchardus , Mullus barbatus , Diplodus annularis , Merluccius merluccius , Merlangius merlangus , Lepidotrigla cavillone , Trachurus trachurus and Trisopterus minutus . [10]
Grimpoteuthis is a genus of pelagic umbrella octopuses known as the dumbo octopuses. The name "dumbo" originates from their resemblance to the title character of Disney's 1941 film Dumbo, having a prominent ear-like fin which extends from the mantle above each eye. There are 17 species recognized in the genus. Prey include crustaceans, bivalves, worms and copepods. The average life span of various Grimpoteuthis species is 3 to 5 years.
The Atlantic horse mackerel, also known as the European horse mackerel or common scad, is a species of jack mackerel in the family Carangidae, the jacks, pompanos and trevallies. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Europe and Africa and into the south-eastern Indian Ocean. It is an important species in commercial fisheries and is listed as a Vulnerable species on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Octopus is the largest genus of octopuses, comprising more than 100 species. These species are widespread throughout the world's oceans. Many species formerly placed in the genus Octopus are now assigned to other genera within the family. The octopus has 8 arms, averaging 20 cm long for an adult.
Octopus cyanea, also known as the big blue octopus or day octopus, is an octopus in the family Octopodidae. It occurs in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Hawaii to the eastern coast of Africa. O. cyanea grows to 16 cm in mantle length with arms to at least 80 cm. This octopus was described initially by the British zoologist John Edward Gray in 1849; the type specimen was collected off Australia and is at the Natural History Museum in London.
Moroteuthopsis longimana, also known as the giant warty squid or longarm octopus squid, is a large species of hooked squid. It attains a mantle length of at least 85 cm and probably over 1.15 m. The largest complete specimen of this species, measuring 2.3 m in total length, was found in Antarctica in 2000.
Eledone is a genus of octopuses forming the only genus in the family Eledonidae. It is mainly distributed in the northern and southern Atlantic Ocean, with one species, E. palari, described from the southwestern Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean in waters around Indonesia and Australia and another, E. microsicya, from the western Indian Ocean. One species, E. thysanophora, is now regarded as a synonym of the brush-tipped octopus.
Enteroctopus megalocyathus, also known as Patagonian red octopus (EN), Pulpo del sur (Chile) and Pulpo colorado (Argentina); is a medium-sized octopus, and the type species for the genus Enteroctopus.
Callistoctopus macropus, also known as the Atlantic white-spotted octopus, white-spotted octopus, grass octopus or grass scuttle, is a species of octopus found in shallow areas of the Mediterranean Sea, the warmer parts of the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Indo-Pacific region. This octopus feeds on small organisms which lurk among the branches of corals.
Cepola macrophthalma is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cepolidae, the bandfishes. It is found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from Senegal north to the British Isles. This species is known as the red bandfish, though this name is also given to other members of the genus Cepola.
Pachygrapsus marmoratus is a species of crab, sometimes called the marbled rock crab or marbled crab, which lives in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is dark violet brown, with yellow marbling, and with a body up to 36 millimetres (1.4 in) long. A semiterrestrial omnivore, it feeds on algae and various animals including mussels and limpets.
Aggregata is a genus of parasitic alveolates belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa.
The curled octopus, also known as the horned octopus, lesser octopus or northern octopus, is a species of cephalopod found in the northeast Atlantic, ranging from Norway to the Mediterranean, including the British Isles. The total length of an adult is around 50 cm, but their arms are often tightly curled. It immobilises and eats large crustaceans by drilling a hole through their shell. It is mainly by-catch in commercial fisheries of the north eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, where the common octopus is the preferred species.
Eledone massyae, the combed octopus, is a small benthic octopus found off the Atlantic coasts of southern South America, particularly Argentina and southern Brazil.
Eledone gaucha is a species of octopus from the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a predator of fish, crabs, lobsters and molluscs.
Eledone microsicya is a little-known species of octopus from the western Indian Ocean. There is a view that because of the similarity in the skins of the single specimen of E. microsicya to the Musky Octopus Eledone moschata that this is not a valid taxon and represents a Red Sea population of the otherwise Mediteraranean E. moschata.
Abdopus aculeatus is a small octopus species in the order Octopoda. A. aculeatus has the common name of algae octopus due to its typical resting camouflage, which resembles a gastropod shell overgrown with algae. It is small in size with a mantle around the size of a small orange (≈7 cm) and legs 25 cm in length, and is adept at mimicking its surroundings.
Octopus tetricus, the gloomy octopus or the common Sydney octopus, is a species of octopus from the subtropical waters of eastern Australia and New Zealand. O.tetricus belongs to the Octopus vulgaris species group and is a commercially prized species. All species within the O. vulgaris group are similar in morphology. The English translation of O. tetricus (Latin) is 'the gloomy octopus'.
Octopus insularis is a species of octopus described in 2008 from individuals found off the coast of Brazil, with a potentially much larger range.
Bathypolypus sponsalis, commonly called the globose octopus, is a deep sea cephalopod that can be found in both the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It possesses many morphological traits adapted to a deep sea environment, including large eggs, reduced gills, no ink sac, and subgelatinous tissues. A distinguishing factor are the relatively large reproductive organs. Their diet consists of predominantly crustaceans and molluscs, but they sometimes consume fish as well. Bathypolypus sponsalis usually dies quickly after reproduction and only spawns once in their lifetime. Sexually mature females have a mantle length of at least 34 mm and sexually mature males have a mantle length of about 24 mm. Juveniles are white and transition to dark brown then to dark purple once maturity is reached.
