''Enteroctopus zealandicus'', also known as the yellow octopus, is a large

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 ...

of the genus '' Enteroctopus''. It is endemic to the waters surrounding

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Description

''Enteroctopus zealandicus'' has the distinctive characteristics of the genus ''Enteroctopus'', including longitudinal folds on the body and large paddle-like papillae. ''E. zealandicus'' is a large octopus, reaching a total length of at least 1.4 m, though few whole samples have been collected and this is only a guide.

Range and habitat

''Enteroctopus zealandicus'' is endemic to New Zealand. Samples have been collected along the east coast of the south island, Chatham Rise, Campbell Plateau, Stewart, Auckland and Antipodes Islands; and from the surface down to 530m depth. There is an absence of published information about the preferred habitat or diet of this species.

Predators

''Enteroctopus zealandicus'' is one of the most important prey of

New Zealand sea lion The New Zealand sea lion (''Phocarctos hookeri''), once known as Hooker's sea lion, and as or (male) and (female) in Māori, is a species of sea lion that is endemic to New Zealand and primarily breeds on New Zealand's subantarctic Auckland ...

s at the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island, in the New Zealand

Subantarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...

. It has also been identified from beaks found in the gut of beached whales.

References

Cephalopods of Oceania Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic molluscs of New Zealand Molluscs described in 1944 Molluscs of New Zealand Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Octopodidae {{Octopus-stub