''Cistopus'' is a genus of octopuses in the family Octopodidae from the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region, colloquially known as old-lady octopuses. For a long time it was thought that ''Cistopus'' was

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

with the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, ''C. indicus'', being the only known species. This species was characterised by the possession of eight small mucus filled pouches around the animal's mouth in the web between the bases of each arm, these have an opening which releases the mucus. The function of these pouches is unknown. A new species, ''C. taiwanicus'' was described in 2009 from Taiwan. Octopuses in the genus ''Cistopus'' are harvested and utilised for food on a commercial basis in southern and eastern Asia. Further new species have been described since then.

Species

The following species are classified in the genus ''Cistopus'': *''

Cistopus chinensis ''Cistopus'' is a genus of octopuses in the family Octopodidae from the Indo-Pacific region, colloquially known as old-lady octopuses. For a long time it was thought that ''Cistopus'' was monotypic with the type species, ''C. indicus'', being th ...

'' Zheng, Lin, Lu & Ma, 2012 *''

Cistopus indicus ''Cistopus'' is a genus of octopuses in the family Octopodidae from the Indo-Pacific region, colloquially known as old-lady octopuses. For a long time it was thought that ''Cistopus'' was monotypic with the type species, ''C. indicus'', being th ...

'' (Rapp (in Férussac & d'Orbigny), 1835) *''

Cistopus platinoidus ''Cistopus'' is a genus of octopuses in the family Octopodidae from the Indo-Pacific region, colloquially known as old-lady octopuses. For a long time it was thought that ''Cistopus'' was monotypic with the type species, ''C. indicus'', being th ...

'' Sreeja,

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

& Biju Kumar, 2015 *'' Cistopus taiwanicus'' Liao & Lu, 2009

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18582276 Octopuses Cephalopod genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray