''Opisthoteuthis dongshaensis'' is a species of octopus located in the South China Sea.

Name and habitat

The

type specimens In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

, the animals used to formally describe the species, were found off Pratas Island. This is also known as Dong Sha Island, hence the species name. In Chinese ( transliterated to the Latin alphabet), ''O. dongshaensis'' is called . The species is only known from waters near Dong Sha Island. ''O. dongshaensis'' lives deep. ''O. dongshaensis'' occupies the

benthic zone The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...

, living on or near the seafloor. It may be threatened by fishing in the area; however, further research is still needed. The type specimens of the species are held by the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung, Taiwan.

Anatomy

''O. dongshaensis'' is small and has a roughly bell-shaped body. The males, like many other octopuses in the genus ''

Opisthoteuthis ''Opisthoteuthis'' is a genus of cirrate octopuses, sometimes known as flapjack octopuses, which are found in all the world's oceans. Behavior Like other cirrates, octopuses in Opisthoteuthis are generally small, and many dwell in the deep sea ...

'', have some enlarged suckers. Males have oversized suckers in the distal field (at the ends of the arms; far from the body). These enlarged suckers only exist on some arms, while other arms have small suckers throughout. Females have proportionally smaller suckers than males; however, females have more suckers on average. These octopuses have wide heads and large eyes. They also have large fins to aid in movement. The fins are long when compared to those of other

cirrate octopus Cirrina or Cirrata is a suborder and one of the two main divisions of octopuses. Cirrate octopuses have a small, internal shell and two fins on their head, while their sister suborder Incirrina has neither. The fins of cirrate octopods are ass ...

species. Thick, fleshy webs connect their arms, creating the distinctive "umbrella" shape. The arms may be of different lengths.

Name and habitat

Anatomy

References

Further reading