Opisthoteuthis persephone

Opisthoteuthis persephone is a cirrate octopus living south of Australia. In particular, it lives in waters off Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. The octopus has been found 270–540 m (885.8–1,771.7 ft) deep.[3] It lives near and directly above the seafloor. S. Stillman Berry was the first to scientifically describe this species after capturing eight specimens while aboard the F.I.S. Endeavour in the early 1910s.[4][5] In describing O. persephone, Berry called it an "exceedingly interesting octopod."[6]

Opisthoteuthis persephone
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Opisthoteuthidae
Genus: Opisthoteuthis
Species:
O. persephone
Binomial name
Opisthoteuthis persephone
Berry, 1918[2]

Description

According to the first description as given by Berry, Opisthoteuthis persephone was neither very small nor very large when compared to other octopuses. He described the octopus as being very flat, almost disk-like, with small fins, beak, and eyes. Its arms are short and its body grey. The suckers are very small, with each arm having only one row of suckers.[6] Captured O. persephone specimens, when measured for total length, were 200 mm (7.9 in) long or more.[4]

In 1993, John M. Healy captured another specimen of O. persephone and was able to learn more about how the animal produces sperm. He described the male reproductive system as being similar to animals in the genus Octopus.[7][lower-alpha 1]

References
  1. G. Lyons; L. Allcock. "Opisthoteuthis persephone". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T163282A993638. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T163282A993638.en.
  2. "Opisthoteuthis persephone". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute.
  3. M.A. Collins; R. Villanueva (June 13, 2006). "Taxonomy, ecology and behaviour of the cirrate octopods.". In Gordon, J.D.M.; Atkinson, R.J.A.; Gibson, R.N. (eds.). Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, Volume 44. CRC Press. p. 297. ISBN 9781420006391.
  4. Jereb, P. (2005). Cephalopods of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cephalopod Species Known to Date · Volume 3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 257. ISBN 9789251079898.
  5. Young, Richard E.; Vecchione, Michael (2003). "Opisthoteuthis persephone". Tree of Life Web Project.
  6. Berry, S. Stillman (1918). Fisheries : Zoological results of the fishing experiments carried out by F.I.S. "Endeavour" 1909-10 under H.C. Dannevig. Australian Department of Trade and Customs. pp. 289–294.
  7. Healy, John M. (1993). "Sperm and Spermiogenesis in Opisthoteuthis persephone (Octopoda: Cirrata): Ultrastructure, Comparison with Other Cephalopods and Evolutionary Significance". Journal of Molluscan Studies. The Malacological Society of London. 59: 105–115. doi:10.1093/mollus/59.1.105.

Notes
  1. While "octopus" can refer to any member of the order Octopoda, it can also refer to a more specific subset of octopuses in the genus Octopus. The genus Octopus is a subset of the Octopoda which includes some, but not all, octopuses.
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