Octopus | |
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Octopus vulgaris | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Order: | Octopoda |
Family: | Octopodidae |
Subfamily: | Octopodinae |
Genus: | Octopus Cuvier, 1797 |
Type species | |
Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797 | |
Species | |
Over 100, see text. |
Octopus is the largest genus of octopuses, comprising about 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. [1] [2]
The following species are species inquirenda; species needing further investigation and redescription to determine whether they belong within this genus. The species listed with an asterisk (*) are questionable and need further study to determine if they are valid species or synonyms; [8]
The following is part of a maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree based on 13 protein-coding genes partitioned by codon, and nodes with less than 70% bootstrap support are collapsed, forming polytomies. As depicted here, genus Octopus (○) is polyphyletic: [9]