| Boyle's flapjack octopod [1] | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Family: | Grimpoteuthidae |
| Genus: | Grimpoteuthis |
| Species: | G. boylei |
| Binomial name | |
| Grimpoteuthis boylei Collins, 2003 [3] | |
Grimpoteuthis boylei is a species of octopus known from only ten individuals.
Grimpoteuthis boylei is a pelagic umbrella octopus, also known as the "dumbo octopus" because it bears a resemblance to the title character of Disney's film Dumbo, 1941. [4] It is large, [5] reaching a total length of 470 millimeters (18.5 inches). [6] [7] Like all cirrates, it has a web over its arms and cirri between its suckers, as well as fins for swimming and a hard shell inside its mantle. G. boylei has a shell shaped like a saddle.
Grimpoteuthis boylei lives at abyssal depths of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, more specifically the Porcupine Abyssal Plain and the Porcupine Seabight. It lives near two other members of its genus, Grimpoteuthis challengeri and Grimpoteuthis discoveryi . [5] The octopus is found between 4,190 and 4,848 meters deep (13,747 to 15,905.5 feet). [6]
It is likely that G. boylei is demersal. While population size is unknown, G. boylei is classified as "Least Concern" because it lives at such extreme depths. [2]
Grimpoteuthis boylei has a life span between 3 and 5 years. The octopus has small fins that are used to propel themselves in order to move as well as to crawl on the seafloor and to capture prey.
Grimpoteuthis boylei search for prey as they hover over the sea floor. They commonly search for polychaete worms, pelagic copepods, isopods, amphipods, and other crustaceans for food. They capture their prey by pouncing, then swallowing their prey whole. [8]
Facing few threats from humans, the main threats that the octopus faces are from predators such as sharks and predatory cephalopods. Grimpoteuthis boylei have chromatophore cells which allow for them to change colors such as red, white, pink, brown, or camouflage in order to blend into their surroundings and avoid predators. [9]
An octopus is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda. The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like other cephalopods, an octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beaked mouth at the centre point of the eight limbs. The soft body can radically alter its shape, enabling octopuses to squeeze through small gaps. They trail their eight appendages behind them as they swim. The siphon is used both for respiration and for locomotion, by expelling a jet of water. Octopuses have a complex nervous system and excellent sight, and are among the most intelligent and behaviourally diverse of all invertebrates.
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot. Fishers sometimes call cephalopods "inkfish", referring to their common ability to squirt ink. The study of cephalopods is a branch of malacology known as teuthology.
Grimpoteuthis is a genus of pelagic cirrate (finned) octopods known as the dumbo octopuses. The name "dumbo" originates from their resemblance to the title character of Disney's 1941 film Dumbo, having two prominent ear-like fins which extend 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.
Stauroteuthis gilchristi is a species of small pelagic octopus found at great depths in the south Atlantic Ocean. It is believed to be one of a very small number of octopuses to exhibit bioluminescence, like its sister taxon Stauroteuthis syrtensis.
Cirrate octopuses possess a well-developed internal shell that supports their muscular swimming fins. This is in contrast to the more familiar, finless, incirrate octopuses, in which the shell remnant is either present as a pair of stylets or absent altogether.
Grimpoteuthis challengeri is a species of large octopus living in the abyssal zone.
Grimpoteuthis discoveryi is a small species of octopus known from more than 50 specimens. It was described in 2003, but specimens have been found as early as 1910. The type species was found at 49°35'N, 14°01'W.
Grimpoteuthis hippocrepium is a species of octopus. It is only known from one specimen found in 1904, which was poorly preserved. Some characteristics G. hippocrepium are unknown.
Grimpoteuthis innominata, commonly known as the small jellyhead, is a species of small, pelagic octopus described by Steve O'Shea in 1999 from two specimens, however several further specimens have since been identified. The genus Enigmateuthis was described to contain this species when described, but Martin Collins placed the species in the genus Grimpoteuthis due to uncertainty regarding the type specimen of Grimpoteuthis.
Grimpoteuthis meangensis is known from either one or two specimens, though the second may be of a completely different species. The first was damaged. Both were found by William Evans Hoyle within one year of each other, and no other animals of the species have been identified since 1886.
Grimpoteuthis megaptera is a species of octopus known from five specimens, collected by Addison Emery Verrill. Between two and three of these specimens may belong to different species.
Grimpoteuthis pacifica is an octopus known from one badly damaged specimen. It is not completely described, and it is not easily separated from some other species of octopus. Nothing clearly differentiates G. pacifica from Grimpoteuthis hippocrepium except for its type locality.
Grimpoteuthis plena is known from only one specimen, which cannot be easily separated from other species of Grimpoteuthis in the Atlantic Ocean. The specimen was in poor condition. It's similar to Grimpoteuthis wuelkeri, and may be a junior specimen of Grimpoteuthis umbellata.
Grimpoteuthis tuftsi is an octopus known from seven specimens.
Grimpoteuthis wuelkeri is a medium-sized octopus characterized from multiple specimens.
Opisthoteuthis calypso or calypso flapjack octopus is a species of genus Opisthoteuthis, which are known as the cirrate octopuses. Octopuses in this genus are known as the flapjack octopuses and can be found in a variety of oceans across the world.
Opisthoteuthis agassizii is a lesser-known, deep-sea octopus first described in 1883 by Addison E. Verrill.
Opisthoteuthis borealis is a lesser-known species of octopus found near Greenland and Iceland, especially in the Davis Strait. The species was described from 9 specimens, and is one of the most recent Opisthoteuthis species described. Not much is known about it besides its anatomy and habitat.
Opisthoteuthis bruuni is a species of finned cirrate octopus found along the western coast of South America. Their tissue is almost jelly-like, and they have short, round bodies.
Grimpoteuthidae are a family of bentho-pelagic octopuses, comprising three currently accepted genera. They have extensive arm webbing and relatively large fins allowing for powerful fin swimming.
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