''Eledone moschata'', the musky octopus, is a
species of
octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...
belonging to the family
Octopodidae.
Taxonomy
The skin of the single specimen of ''
Eledone microsicya
''Eledone microsicya'' is a little-known species of octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and ...
'' is very similar to the skin of ''Eledone moschata'' and some authorities take the view that ''E. microsicya'' is not a valid taxon and represents a Red Sea population of the otherwise Mediteraranean ''E. moschata'' with which it should synonymised.
Distribution
The musky octopus is found throughout the
Mediterranean Sea, and is occasionally found in adjacent parts of the
Atlantic Ocean, around the
Gulf of Cadiz
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
and off the coast of
Portugal.
[DORIS - Données d'Observations pour la Reconnaissance et l'Identification de la faune et la flore Subaquatiques]
/ref>
Habitat
The musky octopus occurs on the sandy bottom of the continental platform, at depths up to 400 meters. Usually it lives burrowed into the sediments.[
]
Description
The largest recorded musky octopus was a male with a mantle
A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that.
Mantle may refer to:
*Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear
**Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
length of , a total length of and a mass of , caught in the Gulf of İzmir (''Gulf of Smyrna''), in the Aegean Sea. This small species has a head smaller than the body, with protruding eyes. The eight tentacles are relatively short and have one row of suckers. The third right arm (called Hectocotylus) is specialized to store and transfer spermatophores to the female. The basic color of the body is gray-brown, with dark, brown to blackish spots.[
''Eledone moschata'' is closely related to the horned octopus, '']Eledone cirrhosa
The curled octopus (''Eledone cirrhosa''), also known as the horned octopus, lesser octopus or northern octopus, is a species of cephalopod found in the northeast Atlantic, ranging from Norway to the Mediterranean, including the British Isles. Th ...
'', but can be distinguished by a number of features; for example, ''E. moschata'' has smooth skin and smells of musk, while ''E. cirrhosa'' has warty skin and no musky odour.
Ecology
The musky octopus feeds on a wide variety of crustaceans, molluscs and fish. Crustaceans are preferred, and species known to be eaten by ''E. moschata'' include '' Maja squinado'', ''Maja crispata
Maja can refer to:
Places
* Maja, Croatia, a village
* Maja, Banten, a subdistrict in Lebak Regency, Banten, Indonesia
** Maja railway station
* Maja, West Java, a subdistrict in Majalengka Regency, West Java, Indonesia
* Maja River, a tribu ...
'', ''Macropodia rostrata
''Macropodia rostrata'', common names, the common spider crab, long-legged spider crab, long-legged crab, is a species of marine crab in the family Inachidae. The Macropodia Rostrata visually mimics many other types of small crabs with the exce ...
'', ''Macropodia longirostris
''Macropodia'' is a genus of crabs, belonging to the family Inachidae. It contains the following species:
*'' Macropodia cirripilus'' Kensley, 1980
*'' Macropodia czernjawskii'' (Brandt, 1880)
*'' Macropodia deflexa'' Forest, 1978
*''Macropodi ...
'', ''Pisa tetraodon
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city ...
'', ''Dorippe lanata
In Greek mythology, Anius (Ancient Greek: Ἄνιος) was a king of Delos and priest of Apollo.
Family
He was the son of Apollo and Rhoeo, daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis.
Mythology
Anius was born either on the island of Delos, which ...
'', ''Lissa chiragra __NOTOC__
Lissa may refer to:
Places
* the old Venetian name for the Adriatic island of Vis
* the German name for the town of Leszno in Poland
* the German name for the town of Lysá nad Labem in the Czech Republic
* a little town in Germany, in e ...
'', '' Lambrus angulifrons'', '' Lambrus massena'', ''Inachus dorsettensis
''Inachus dorsettensis'', commonly known as the scorpion spider crab, is a species of crab generally found on loose substrates (stony bottoms to mud) from depth down to about . It is found along the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean from Norway t ...
'', ''Carcinus aestuarii
''Carcinus aestuarii'', also known as the Mediterranean green crab is a littoral crab, native to the Mediterranean Sea.
''Carcinus aestuarii'' bears some similarities to ''Carcinus maenas'' and was sometimes considered to be a subspecies there ...
'', '' Pachygrapsus marmoratus'', '' Xantho poressa'', ''Pilumnus hirtellus
''Pilumnus hirtellus'', the bristly crab or hairy crab, is a species of European crab. It is less than long and covered in hair. It lives in shallow water and feeds on carrion.
Description
''Pilumnus hirtellus'' is a small crab, with a carapace ...
'', ''Goneplax rhomboides
''Goneplax rhomboides'' is a species of crab. It is known by the common name angular crab because of its angular carapace. Although it is also called the ''square crab'', its shell is in fact more trapezoidal than square (or rhomboidal, as its sc ...
'', ''Pagurus prideaux
''Pagurus prideaux'' is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in shallow waters off the northwest coast of Europe and usually lives symbiotically with the sea anemone ''Adamsia palliata''.
Description
Like other hermi ...
'', '' Ilia nucleus'' and '' Squilla mantis''; molluscs consumed by ''E., moschata'' include ''Chlamys varia
''Chlamys varia'', also called Mimachlamys varia common name the variegated scallop, is a species of small scallop, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pectinidae, the scallops. It occurs in the North Sea, the English Channel, the northeaster ...
'', '' Mytilus galloprovincialis'', ''Sepia orbignyana
''Sepia orbignyana'', the pink cuttlefish, is a species of small cuttlefish from the family Sepiidae. It is occurs in the temperate and tropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Description
''Sepia orbignyana'' is a fairly small cuttlefish, ...
'', ''Illex coindetii
''Illex coindetii'', commonly known as the southern shortfin squid or broadtail shortfin squid, is a species of neritic squids in the family Ommastrephidae. They are found in the Mediterranean Sea and on both sides of the north Atlantic Ocean.
D ...
'', '' Loligo subulata''; ''E. moschata'' also eats the fish '' Engraulis encrasicolus'', ''Sardina pilchardus
The European pilchard (''Sardina pilchardus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus ''Sardina''. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast ...
'', '' Mullus barbatus'', ''Diplodus annularis
The annular sea bream (''Diplodus annularis'') is a species of seabream belonging to the family Sparidae.
Description
''Diplodus annularis'' can reach a length of about , but usually it is approximately 13 cm long. Body is generally grey-si ...
'', '' Merluccius merluccius'', ''Merlangius merlangus
''Merlangius merlangus'', commonly known as Whiting or merling, is an important food fish in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the northern Mediterranean, western Baltic, and Black Sea. In Anglophonic countries outside the Whiting's natural ...
'', ''Lepidotrigla cavillone
The large-scaled gurnard (''Lepidotrigla cavillone'') is a species of marine, demersal ray-finned fish from the Family (biology), family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
...
'', ''Trachurus trachurus
The Atlantic horse mackerel (''Trachurus trachurus''), also known as the European horse mackerel or common scad, is a species of jack mackerel in the family Carangidae, the jacks, pompanos and trevallies. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean ...
'' and '' Trisopterus minutus''.[Halil Şe]
Food Preference of Eledone moschata Lamarck, 1799 (Cephalopoda:
Octopodidae) in Captive Conditions
International Journal of Natural and Engineering Sciences - volume=1 - pages=29–31
Gallery
File: Moschuskrake2.jpg, A live individual of ''Eledone moschata''
File:Eledone moschata1.jpg, Illustration
File:Eledone moschata.jpg, Illustration (1845)
File: CefalopodiViventinelGolfodiNapoliTav3.jpg, Illustration (1896)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2296077
moschata
Cephalopods described in 1798
Marine molluscs of Europe
Cephalopods of Europe