''Opisthoteuths massyae'' is an octopus living in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. ''O. massyae'' 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 " ...

(seafloor and water immediately above) of the open ocean. The octopus lives from to deep. It's found as far north as Ireland, in the Rockall Basin, and as far south as Namibia. There are more specimens in the southeast Atlantic than in the northeast Atlantic. The two foremost arms of mature males are thicker than their other six

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

. This is unusual for ''

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 ...

'' species. Mature males also have some enlarged suckers, which is more typical of the genus. Males have more suckers than females. Specimens with longer arms generally have more suckers. Males weigh more than females; males can reach a weight of , and females a weight of . Females may lay eggs throughout their lifetimes. ''O. massyae'' has the ability to invert or "balloon" their webs. ''O. massyae'' is a carnivore; it probably catches prey by enveloping small animals within its web, similar to some other cirrate octopods. It eats a variety of small prey: gammarid amphipods, polychaetes, decapods, opossum shrimp,

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s, isopods, tanaids, marine snails, marine slugs, and

bivalves Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

. Although ''O. massyae'' isn't used commercially, it's often taken as bycatch by commercial fishing vessels. This threatens its population.

References

Notes

External links

Web inversion and "balloon" responses
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13930572 Octopuses Molluscs described in 1920 Cephalopods of Europe Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean