Octopus relates to approximately 300 species of soft-bodied, eight-limbed molluscs of the order Octopoda. The order is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like other cephalopods, an octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beak, with its mouth at the center point of the eight limbs. The soft body can rapidly 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.
Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus Hapalochlaena, are four highly venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans, from Japan to Australia. They can be identified by their yellowish skin and characteristic blue and black rings that change color dramatically when the animal is threatened. They eat small crustaceans, including crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp, and other small animals.
Shabu-shabu is a Japanese nabemono hotpot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces. The term is onomatopoeic, derived from the sound -"swish swish" -emitted when the ingredients are stirred in the cooking pot. The food is cooked piece by piece by the diner at the table. Shabu-shabu is considered to be more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki.
Tremoctopus is a genus of pelagic cephalopods, containing four species that occupy surface to mid-waters in subtropical and tropical oceans. They are commonly known as blanket octopodes, in reference to the long, transparent webs that connect the dorsal and dorsolateral arms of the adult females. The other arms are much shorter and lack webbing.
The California two-spot octopus, often simply called a "bimac", is an octopus species native to many parts of the Pacific Ocean including the coast of California. One can identify the species by the circular blue eyespots on each side of its head. Bimacs usually live to be about two years old. They are closely related to Verrill's two-spot octopus. In 2015, the genome was sequenced.
The mimic octopus is an Indo-Pacific species of octopus from the Indo-Pacific region. Like other octopuses, it uses its chromatophores to disguise itself with its background. However, it is noteworthy for being able to impersonate a wide variety of other marine animals. Although many animals mimic either their environment or other animals to avoid predation, the mimic octopus and its close relative the wunderpus are the only ones known to actively imitate a number of animals in order to elude predators.
Bathypolypus is a genus of octopuses in the monotypic family Bathypolypodidae. It has five described species.
The plate fish is a flounder in the genus Bothus, found in the warmer parts of the Atlantic including the Caribbean. Its typical habitat is sandy plains near coral reefs and it is able to change its colouring to make it well-camouflaged in this environment. It is sometimes known as the peacock flounder, a name also given to the closely related Bothus mancus from the Indo-Pacific.
Dicyema shimantoense is a parasitic worm of the Phylum Dicyemida. It is a vermiform mesozoan parasite that infects the renal appendages of the cephalopod Octopus sasakii. The name is derived from the Shimanto River, which is the longest river in Shikoku, and flows into Tosa Bay. A study from 2000-06 used 59 specimens obtained from fishermen at Tosa Bay and Kii Strait Japan. O. sasakii is a cephalopod found mainly in the shallow-water of Southern Japan. Research found that only those of certain sizes and geographical locations can be infected by D.shimantoense.
Blue Ventures is a science-led social enterprise that develops transformative approaches for nurturing and sustaining locally led marine conservation. The organisation works in partnership with coastal communities in places where the ocean is vital to the culture and economy.
Bathypolypus valdiviae, common name the boxer octopus or Valdivia bathyal octopus, is a species of octopus in the Bathypolypodidae family. It is endemic to the south Atlantic off southern Africa below a depth of 500m where it was one of the most commonly sampled cephalopods, taken mainly from the sea bed. The specific name commemorates the SS Valdivia the steamship used on the Valdivia Expedition of 1898-1899 and which was led by Carl Chun.
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. It is of minor importance to fisheries, being mainly bycatch in the north eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean where the common octopus is the preferred catch.
Didemnum vexillum is a species of colonial tunicate in the family Didemnidae. It is commonly called sea vomit, marine vomit, pancake batter tunicate, or carpet sea squirt. It is thought to be native to Japan, but it has been reported as an invasive species in a number of places in Europe, North America and New Zealand. It is sometimes given the nickname "D. vex" because of the vexing way in which it dominates marine ecosystems when introduced into new locations, however the species epithet vexillum actually derives from the Latin word for flag, and the species was so named because of the way colonies' long tendrils appear to wave in the water like a flag.
Okileucauge is a genus of East Asian long-jawed orb-weavers that was first described by A. Tanikawa in 2001.
Microeledone mangoldi, the sickle-tooth pygmy octopus, is a species of octopus from the family Megaleledonidae. This species was described in 2004, the type specimen being a male which was collected from a depth of approximately 1,000 m (3,300 ft) near the Norfolk Ridge, in the southwest Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia. It is a very small octopus which has a single row of suckers, lacks an ink sac and has a radula with seven rows of teeth with the unique central tooth, called the rechidian tooth, being curved with a grooved tip. The remaining teeth are flat and plate like and so are also distinctive. The smooth creamy-pink body lacks any chromatophores. The specific name honours the Swiss malacologist and marine biologist Katharina Mangold-Wirz (1922-2003).
Opisthoteuthis is a genus of cirrate octopuses, sometimes known as flapjack octopuses, which are found in all the world's oceans.
Cirrothauma is a genus of deep water octopuses from the cirrate family Cirroteuthidae. The species Cirrothauma are fragile, gelatinous deep-sea octopods with a shell, a moderate saddle, and triangular wings. Their eyes either have lenses, as seen in the species Cirrothauma murrayi or they have reduced eyes without lenses, shown in the other extant species Cirrothauma magna. Both species were placed in Cirrothauma due to the fact that they possess similar shells. These octopuses have been reported to live in all the world's oceans, except for the Southern Ocean.
Madoka Sasaki was a Japanese zoologist, who is known for his work on the cephalopods of Japan, as well as other groups such as salamanders. Sasaki was Professor of Zoology in the Fishery Department of the College of Agriculture at Tohoku Imperial University, Sapporo, Japan. Sasaki died in 1927 and his major work A monograph of the dibranchiate cephalopods of the Japanese and adjacent waters was published posthumously in 1929, and was based largely on his studies of the cephalopod collections of the Zoology Department of the "Tokyo University Museum", many of which he collected himself. The species Sebastodes sasakii, Octopus sasakii and Sepia sasakii are among the taxa that bear names that honour Sasaki.
Cirroctopus glacialis is an octopus located in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica. Its shell is v-shaped, and it has a distinctive pigmentation pattern on its web's oral face. C. glacialis is thought to be demersal, like other members of the genus Cirroctopus. These octopuses are found between 333 and 914 meters deep. Their population is currently unknown.
Opisthoteuthis agassizii is a lesser-known, deep-sea octopus first described in 1883 by Addison E. Verrill.
