''Cirrothauma murrayi,'' commonly called the "Blind cirrate octopus,"
is a nearly blind
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, cuttlefis ...
whose eyes can sense light, but not form images. It has been found worldwide, usually beneath the ocean's surface.
Like other
cirrates, it has an internal shell, muscular fins for swimming, and a web connecting the arms.
The species was first caught by an expedition led by Sir
John Murray in 1910, and it was later named in honor of Murray. It was described by German marine biologist
Carl Chun
Carl Chun (1 October 1852 – 11 April 1914) was a German marine biologist.
Chun was born in Höchst, today a part of Frankfurt, and studied zoology at the University of Leipzig, where from 1878 to 1883 he was privat-docent of zoology and an a ...
in 1911.
The large
buccal mass, esophagus, and stomach of the ''Cirrothauma Murrayi'' strongly suggest whole organisms, especially
crustaceans
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean gr ...
, are part of its diet. The enzymatic action of salivary excretions separates the crustacean's musculoskeletal attachments and allows for the tissue to be removed, leaving the exoskeleton of the crustacean undamaged.
Description
Eye structure
The eye structure is very different from other octopods. Their eyes are small, lens-less and almost non-functional, as the eyes also lack irises and ciliary bodies.
The nearly sightless eyes are embedded deep in the gelatinous tissue of their head.
Suckers
''Cirrothauma murrayi'' has about six strong sessile suckers which help them swim as well as hunt fish.
References
Bibliography
*
Octopuses
Taxa named by Carl Chun
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