Enteroctopus
Giant octopus | |
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E. dofleini showing longitudinal folds and paddle-like papillae diagnostic for the genus.
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Order: | Octopoda |
Family: | Enteroctopodidae |
Genus: | Enteroctopus Rochebrune & Mabille , 1889
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Type species | |
Octopus megalocyathus Gould, 1852
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Species | |
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Enteroctopus is an octopus genus whose members are sometimes known as giant octopuses.
Etymology
The generic name Enteroctopus was created by
Description
Enteroctopus is a genus of generally temperate octopuses. Members of this genus are characterized by their large size and are often known as giant octopuses. Enteroctopus species have distinct longitudinal wrinkles or folds dorsally and laterally on their bodies. Their heads are distinctly narrower than the mantle width. The hectocotylus of the males in this genus, found on the third right arm, is long and narrow in comparison with other genera in the family Octopodidae, often comprising one-fifth the length of the arm. Octopuses in this genus have large, paddle-like papillae instead of the more conical papillae in other octopus genera.[3][4]
Species
Genus Enteroctopus at present consists of four species, tabulated below:[5]
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
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Enteroctopus dofleini |
giant Pacific octopus | coastal North Pacific, along California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Russia, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula | |
Enteroctopus magnificus | southern giant octopus | waters off Namibia and South Africa. | |
Enteroctopus megalocyathus |
southern red octopus | southeastern coast of South America along the coasts of Argentina and Chile up to the Chiloé Archipelago, and the Falkland Islands. | |
Enteroctopus zealandicus | yellow octopus | waters surrounding New Zealand. |
Type species
E. membranaceus has often been regarded as
As such, the genus was considered invalid until Hochberg resurrected it in 1998. Hochberg noted that Robson had considered E. membranaceus a
Distribution
Species in the genus Enteroctopus are restricted to the temperate areas of the
Size
The member of this genus that best embodies the common name "giant octopus" is
See also
Footnotes
- E. dofleini specimen that was 9 meters (30 feet) across and weighed more than 270 kilograms (600 pounds). Averages are more like 5 meters (16 feet) and 50 kilograms (110 pounds).[8]
References
- ^ Bieler R, Bouchet P, Gofas S, Marshall B, Rosenberg G, La Perna R, Neubauer TA, Sartori AF, Schneider S, Vos C, ter Poorten JJ, Taylor J, Dijkstra H, Finn J, Bank R, Neubert E, Moretzsohn F, Faber M, Houart R, Picton B, Garcia-Alvarez O, eds. (2022). "Enteroctopus Rochebrune & Mabille, 1889". MolluscaBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ Rochebrune, Alphonse-Tremeau de; Mabille, Jules François (1889). Mission scientifique du cap Horn, 1882-1883 (in French and Latin). Paris: Gauthier-Vallars. p. 7. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
[...] brachiis longissimis, intestiniformibus [...]
- ^ ISBN 0-936494-13-1.
- ^ a b c Norman, M. (2003). Cephalopods: A world guide. Heckenhaim, Germany: Conch Books. pp. 213–216.
- ^ Norman, M. D.; Hochberg, Frederick George (2005). "The current state of octopus taxonomy". Phuket Marine Biological Center Research Bulletin. Vol. 66. pp. 127–154.
- ^ "CephBase: Countries' exclusive economic zones with Enteroctopus megalocyathus". Archived from the original on 5 September 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
- ^ Cosgrove, J. A. (1987). Aspects of the natural history of Octopus dofleini, the giant Pacific octopus. Department of Biology (M.Sc. thesis). Victoria, Canada: University of Victoria.
- ^ "Animals. Reference. Giant Pacific Octopus". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ Perez, M. C.; Lopez, D.A.; Aguila, K.; Gonzalez, M. L. (2006). "Feeding and growth in captivity of the octopus Enteroctopus megalocyathus [Gould, 1852]". Aquaculture Research. 37: 550–555.
- ^ Gleadall, I. G.; Salcedo-Vargas, M. A. (2004). "Catalogue of the cephalopoda specimens in the zoology department of Tokyo University Museum". Interdisciplinary Information Sciences. 10: 113–142.