| Megaleledonidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Graneledone boreopacifica | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Superfamily: | Octopodoidea |
| Family: | Megaleledonidae Taki, 1961 |
| Type genus | |
| Megaleledone Taki, 1961 | |
Megaleledonidae is a family of octopuses in the superfamily Octopodoidea. It was formerly placed in the family Octopodidae sensu lato as the subfamily Megaleledoninae but more recent studies have raised this taxon as a valid family. [1]
Megaleledonidae are known to produce both fewer and larger offspring than octopods that live in more tropical climates. The eggs produced by Megaleldonidae are typically large with very slow embryonic development that can take up the majority of their lifecycle including from months to years. [2]
The following genera are included within the family Megaleledonidae: [1]
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 Octopodidae comprise the family containing the majority of known octopus species.
Enteroctopus is an octopus genus whose members are sometimes known as giant octopus.
Adelieledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Megaleledonidae.
Pareledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Megaleledonidae.
Velodona togata is a species of octopus in the monotypic genus Velodona. First described by Carl Chun in 1915, with a second subspecies discovered by Guy Coburn Robson in 1924, it was named for the distinctive membranes on its arms.
Graneledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Octopodidae. The type species is Eledone verrucosaVerrill, 1881.
Thaumeledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Octopodidae found in deep waters in the Southern Hemisphere.
Muusoctopus levis is a species of octopus in the family Enteroctopodidae. It was first described by William Evans Hoyle in 1885 in an article in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History detailing the new species of octopus found on HMS Challenger as part of the Challenger expedition; the type specimen was retrieved from the Southern Ocean. The species is found in subantarctic waters in the Southern Ocean, particularly surrounding Heard Island and Kerguelen Island, but specimens comparable to M. levis have also been found at the Antarctic Peninsula.
Octopodoidea is a superfamily of the suborder Incirrata containing all extant octopods except for the cirrate octopodes, argonauts, and the vampire squid.
Louise Allcock is a British researcher, best known for her work on ecology and evolution of the cephalopods of the Southern Ocean and deep sea. She is the editor of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Bathypurpurata is a genus of incirrate octopus in the family Megaleledonidae from the Antarctic Ocean. The genus has only one species, Bathypurpurata profunda, a small purple octopus which lacks an ink sac and has a single row of suckers and a very large salivary gland. It was described in 2005 from a type specimen caught between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands.
Praealtus paralbida is a species of octopus in the family Megaleledonidae. It is the only known species in the monotypic genus Praealtus. It is very similar to Bentheledone albida, a taxon that is considered a nomen dubium; its true taxonomic status will not be confirmed until more specimens are collected. It reaches a total length of 380mm, with a round mantle and narrow head and medium length arms each with a single row of suckers. Freshly collected specimens are pale slaty grey to almost whitish violet with a dorsal surface covered with abundant small papillae. It is probably found all round the Antarctic but the type specimen was collected off the Antarctic Peninsula. This species is found at depths varying from 2896 to 3222m.
Muusoctopus is a cosmopolitan genus of deep-sea octopus from the family Enteroctopodidae. These are small to medium-sized octopuses which lack an ink sac. Recent work has suggested that these octopuses originated in the North Atlantic and subsequently moved into the North Pacific while the species in the Southern Hemisphere are descended from multiple invasions from northern oceans.
Richard E. Young is a teuthologist. He is an Emeritus Professor of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.
Grimpoteuthis challengeri is a species of large octopus living in the abyssal zone.
Opisthoteuthis agassizii is a lesser-known, deep-sea octopus first described in 1883 by Addison E. Verrill.
Opisthoteuthis extensa is a species of octopus found off the west coast of Sumatra, an Indonesian island. It lives at a recorded depth of 768 m (2,520 ft). O. extensa lives in a benthic habitat, like many other cirrate octopuses. It occupies a deep part of the ocean where little sunlight penetrates.
Opisthoteuthis persephone is a cirrate octopus living south of Australia. In particular, it lives in waters off Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. The octopus has been found 270–540 m (885.8–1,771.7 ft) deep. It lives near and directly above the seafloor. S. Stillman Berry was the first to scientifically describe this species after capturing eight specimens while aboard the F.I.S. Endeavour in the early 1910s. In describing O. persephone, Berry called it an "exceedingly interesting octopod."
Opisthoteuthis philipii is an octopus of the Indian Ocean. It lives off the coast of Kerala, India. Known specimens were found between 275–365 m (902–1,198 ft) deep in the Arabian Sea near Alappuzha.