''Grimpoteuthis boylei'' is a species of octopus known from only ten individuals.

Description

The Grimpoteuthis Boylei is a pelagic umbrella octopus, also known as the "dumbo octopus" because it breaks resemblance to the title character of Disney's film Dumbo, 1941. It is large, reaching a total length of 470 millimeters (18.5 inches). Like all cirrates, it has a web over its arms and

cirri Giovanni Battista Cirri (1 October 1724 – 11 June 1808) was an Italian cellist and composer in the 18th century. Biography Cirri was born in Forlì in the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy. He had his first musical training with his brother ...

between its suckers, as well as fins for swimming and a hard

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

inside its mantle. ''G. boylei'' has a shell shaped like a saddle.

Habitat

''G. boylei'' lives at abyssal depths of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, more specifically the

Porcupine Abyssal Plain The Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) is located in international waters, adjacent to the Irish continental margin. The PAP lies beyond the Porcupine Bank's deepest point and is southwest of it. It has a muddy seabed, with scattered abyssal hills ...

and the

Porcupine Seabight The Porcupine Seabight or Porcupine Basin is a deep-water oceanic basin located on the continental margin in the northeastern portion of the Atlantic Ocean. It can be found in the southwestern offshore portion of Ireland and is part of a series o ...

. It lives near two other members of its genus, '' Grimpoteuthis challengeri'' and ''

Grimpoteuthis discoveryi ''Grimpoteuthis discoveryi'' is a small species of octopus known from more than 50 specimens. It was described in 2003, but specimens have been found as early as 1910. The type species was found at 49°35'N, 14°01'W. Description At maximum, ''Gr ...

''. The octopus is found between 4,190 and 4,848 meters deep (13,747 to 15,905.5 feet). It is likely that ''G. boylei'' is

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

. While population size is unknown, ''G. boylei'' is classified as "Least Concern" because it lives at such extreme depths.

Characteristics

G. boylei has a life span between 3 to 5 years. The octopus has small fins that are used to propel themselves in order to move as well as to crawl on the seafloor and to capture prey.

Feeding

G. boylei search for prey as they hover over the sea floor. They commonly search for polychaete worms, pelagic copepods, isopods, amphipods, and other crustaceans for food. They capture their prey by pouncing, then swallowing their prey whole.

Threats

Facing few threats from humans, the main threats that the octopus faces are from predators such as sharks and predatory cephalopods. The G. boylei have chromatophore cells which allow for them to change colors such as red, white, pink, brown, or camouflage in order to blend into their surroundings and avoid predators. Hadjisolomou, Stavros P. (March 2017). "SpotMetrics: An Open-Source Image-Analysis Software Plugin for Automatic Chromatophore Detection and Measurement". Frontiers in Physiology. 8: 106.

References

{{octopus-stub Molluscs described in 2003 Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Octopuses Molluscs of Europe