Opisthoteuthis hardyi

Opisthoteuthis hardyi
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Octopoda
Family:	Opisthoteuthidae
Genus:	Opisthoteuthis
Species:	O. hardyi
Binomial name
Opisthoteuthis hardyi Villanueva, Collins, Sánchez, & Voss, 2002 [2]

Opisthoteuthis hardyi is a lesser-known octopus species. It was described in 2002 from a male caught off the Shag Rocks, which are far south in the Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands. ^[3]

The specimen was medium-sized, with a mantle of 45 mm (1.8 in) long. The whole body was 250 mm (9.8 in) long. ^[4] It had some enlarged suckers, which is typical for male octopuses belonging to Opisthoteuthis . It also had a web connecting its long arms, which is common for cirrate octopuses and some incirrate octopuses. ^[3]

The specimen was found in the open ocean between 800 m (2,600 ft) and 1,000 m (3,300 ft) deep. ^[3] However, the true depth range is wider. After 2002, dozens more specimens, likely O. hardyi, were discovered on the Patagonian Shelf from 630–1,390 m (2,070–4,560 ft) deep. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

References

1. Lyons, G.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Opisthoteuthis hardyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014 e.T176051A1425381. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T176051A1425381.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. "Opisthoteuthis hardyi Villanueva, Collins, Sánchez & Voss, 2002". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute.
3. Roger Villanueva; Michael Vecchione; Richard E. Young (May 2003). "Opisthoteuthis hardyi". Tree of Life Web Project.
4. Sánchez, P.; Villanueva, R.; Voss, N.A. (2002). "Systematics, distribution and biology of the cirrate octopods of the genus Opisthoteuthis (Mollusca, Cephalopoda) in the Atlantic Ocean, with description of two new species". Bulletin of Marine Science. 71 (2): 933-985. ISSN   0007-4977.
5. Jereb, Patrizia; Roper, Clyde F.E.; Norman, Mark D.; Finn, Julian K. (2016). Cephalopods of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cephalopod Species Known to Date (PDF). Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 256. ISBN   978-92-5-107989-8.
6. Alan J. Southward; Craig M. Young; Lee A. Fuiman (June 2006). Advances in Marine Biology: Volume 50. Elsevier Science. ISBN   978-0-08-046333-9.
7. Ashton Acton, Q. (2012). "New marine biology data have been reported by M.A. Collins and co-authors". Issues in Life Sciences: Aquatic and Marine Life: 2011 Edition. ScholarlyEditions. ISBN   978-1-4649-6548-7.

Further reading

• Martin A. Collins; Vladimir Laptikhovsky; Jan M. Strugnell (2010). "Expanded description of Opisthoteuthis hardyi based on new specimens from the Patagonian slope" . Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 90 (3): 605–611. doi:10.1017/S0025315409000988. S2CID   86449884.