''Eledone'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
octopuses forming the only genus in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Eledonidae.
It is mainly distributed in the northern and southern
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, with one species, ''
E. palari'', described from the southwestern
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
and eastern
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
in waters around Indonesia and Australia and another, ''E. microsicya'', from the western Indian Ocean. One species, ''E. thysanophora'', is now regarded as a
synonym of the
brush-tipped octopus (''Eledone schultzei'').
Species
The following species are currently classified as being in the genus ''Eledone'':
* ''
Eledone caparti''
Adam, 1950
* ''
Eledone cirrhosa''
(Lamarck, 1798) –
curled octopus
* ''
Eledone gaucha''
Haimovici, 1988
* ''
Eledone massyae''
Voss
Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...
, 1964 – combed octopus
* ''
Eledone microsicya
''Eledone microsicya'' is a little-known species of octopus from the western Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asi ...
'' *
( Rochebrune, 1884)
* ''
Eledone moschata
''Eledone moschata'', the musky octopus, is a species of octopus belonging to the family Octopodidae.
Taxonomy
The skin of the single specimen of ''Eledone microsicya'' is very similar to the skin of ''Eledone moschata'' and some authorities ta ...
''
(Lamarck, 1798) – musky octopus
* ''
Eledone nigra''
(Hoyle, 1910)
* ''
Eledone palari''
Lu and Stranks, 1992 – spongetip octopus
* ''
Eledone schultzei''
Hoyle, 1910 -- brush-tipped octopus
The species listed above with an asterisk (
*) are questionable and need further study to determine if they are valid species or synonyms.
References
External links
*
Cephalopod genera
{{octopus-stub