| Thaumeledone | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Family: | Megaleledonidae |
| Genus: | Thaumeledone Robson, 1930 |
| Type species | |
| Eledone brevis Hoyle, 1885 | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Thaumeledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Octopodidae found in deep waters in the Southern Hemisphere.
Members of this genus are found in deep waters in the Southern Hemisphere. They are small, squat-bodied, benthic octopuses with arms united by a web. A single row of suckers occurs on the arms. Most species have a deep purple pigmentation on the oral surface of the web. One arm in the male is modified into a hectocotylus. This has a large calamus at the end, giving it a club-like appearance. [1]
These species are accepted by the World Register of Marine Species: [2]
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 15 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.
Octopus is the largest genus of octopuses, comprising more than 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 Octopodidae.
Moroteuthopsis longimana, also known as the giant warty squid or longarm octopus squid, is a large species of hooked squid. It attains a mantle length of at least 85 cm and probably over 1.15 m. The largest complete specimen of this species, measuring 2.3 m in total length, was found in Antarctica in 2000.
Adelieledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Megaleledonidae.
Pareledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Megaleledonidae.
Bentheledone is a genus of octopuses in the family Megaleledonidae.
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.
Thaumeledone gunteri is a species of small, benthic, deep-sea octopus found in the bathyal zone in the Southern Ocean near South Georgia.
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.
Graneledone yamana is a species of octopus in the genus Graneledone. G. yamana is assigned to this genus because of the absence of an ink sac and crop, the presence of cartilaginous warts covering the body cavity, uniserial suckers on the arms, and a reduced radula. This genus has been found in the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean near hydrothermal vents. Its identifying characteristics are papillose skin, two horns located above the eyes, small gills, and five to seven lamellae located on the outside of the demibranch. The arms of G. yamana have 35–80 suckers on the females and 26–70 on the males. This species is known from the southwest Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Uruguay, Argentina, and southern Brazil. G. yamana is the fifth species of Graneledone found in the southern oceans. G. yamana physically resembles the species Graneledone verrucosa, except the cartilaginous warts on the body cavities of both these species differ. G. verruscosa is also found in the North Atlantic Ocean instead of the South.
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.
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.
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.
Sasakiopus is a genus of octopus containing only one species, Sasakiopus salebrosus, the rough octopus. It is part of the family Enteroctopodidae. Genetic analysis appeared to show that S. salebrosus is the sister taxon of the genera Benthoctopus and Vulcanoctopus, although the former is now considered a synonym of Bathypolypus, the only genus in the family Bathypolypodidae, and the latter as a synonym of Muusoctopus.
Grimpoteuthis innominata is a species of small, pelagic octopus only known from two specimens. Steve O'Shea discovered it in 1999, and created the genus Enigmateuthis to contain it. Martin Collins placed the species in the genus Grimpoteuthis.
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 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 grimaldii is an octopus found near the Azores.