''Eledone'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) 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, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

es forming the only genus in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Eledonidae. It is mainly distributed in the northern and southern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, with one species, '' E. palari'', described from the southwestern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and eastern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

in waters around Indonesia and Australia and another, ''E. microsicya'', from the western Indian Ocean. One species, ''E. thysanophora'', is now regarded as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of the

brush-tipped octopus ''Eledone schultzei'', the brush-tipped octopus, is a rare species of octopus. It has previously been known by other taxonomic names (synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, m ...

(''Eledone schultzei'').

Species

The following species are currently classified as being in the genus ''Eledone'': * ''

Eledone caparti ''Eledone caparti'' is a rare and little known species of benthic octopus from the Atlantic Ocean off the south-west coast of Africa. The egg masses of ''Eledone caparti'' have been found in the dissected stomachs of blue shark The blue shark ...

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

, 1950 * ''

Eledone cirrhosa The curled octopus (''Eledone cirrhosa''), also known as the horned octopus, lesser octopus or northern octopus, is a species of cephalopod found in the northeast Atlantic, ranging from Norway to the Mediterranean, including the British Isles. Th ...

'' (Lamarck, 1798) –

curled octopus The curled octopus (''Eledone cirrhosa''), also known as the horned octopus, lesser octopus or northern octopus, is a species of cephalopod found in the northeast Atlantic, ranging from Norway to the Mediterranean, including the British Isles. Th ...

* ''

Eledone gaucha ''Eledone gaucha'' is a species of octopus from the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a predator of fish, crabs, lobsters and molluscs. This octopus is a member of the genus ''Eledone'' and belongs to the family Eledonidae. It was distinguished f ...

'' Haimovici, 1988 * ''

Eledone massyae ''Eledone massyae'', the combed octopus, is a small benthic octopus found off the Atlantic coasts of southern South America, particularly Argentina and southern Brazil. Description The body is rounded and slightly flattened dorso-ventrally. Th ...

Voss Voss () is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages inclu ...

, 1964 – combed octopus * ''

Eledone microsicya ''Eledone microsicya'' is a little-known species of octopus from the western Indian Ocean. There is a view that because of the similarity in the skins of the single specimen of ''E. microsicya'' to the Musky Octopus ''Eledone moschata ''Eledo ...

'' * (

Rochebrune Rochebrune may refer to the following places in France: * Rochebrune, Hautes-Alpes, a commune in the department of Hautes-Alpes * Rochebrune, Drôme, a commune in the department of Drôme * Pic de Rochebrune, a mountain of Cottian Alps * Pic ...

, 1884) * ''

Eledone moschata ''Eledone moschata'', the musky octopus, is a species of octopus belonging to the family Octopodidae. Taxonomy The skin of the single specimen of '' Eledone microsicya'' is very similar to the skin of ''Eledone moschata'' and some authorities ta ...

'' (Lamarck, 1798) – musky octopus * ''

Eledone nigra ''Eledone nigra'' is a little-known species of octopus described from one male and six females which were taken in Luderitz Bay, Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its ...

'' (Hoyle, 1910) * ''

Eledone palari ''Eledone palari'', commonly known as the spongetip octopus, is a species of benthic octopus from the coastal waters of the eastern Indian Ocean and the south-western Pacific. The species was formally described in 1992 and is the first species ...

'' Lu and Stranks, 1992 – spongetip octopus * ''

Eledone schultzei ''Eledone schultzei'', the brush-tipped octopus, is a rare species of octopus. It has previously been known by other taxonomic names (synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, m ...

'' Hoyle, 1910 -- brush-tipped octopus The species listed above with an asterisk (*) are questionable and need further study to determine if they are valid species or synonyms.

References

External links

* Cephalopod genera {{octopus-stub