''Argonauta cornuta'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

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 ...

belonging to the

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 ...

Argonauta Argonauta may refer to: Animals *Argonaut (animal), molluscs of the genus ''Argonauta'' *''Aprominta argonauta'', a species of moth *''Asterias argonauta'', a species of starfish *''Dentimargo argonauta'', a species of sea snail *''Dorcadion sulci ...

''. The female of the species, like all

argonaut The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after ...

s, creates a paper-thin eggcase that coils around the octopus reminiscent of the way a

nautilus A nautilus (; ) is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina. It comprises nine living species in two genera, the type genus, ty ...

lives in its shell (hence the name

paper nautilus The argonauts (genus ''Argonauta'', the only extant genus in the family Argonautidae) are a group of pelagic octopuses. They are also called paper nautili, referring to the paper-thin eggcase that females secrete; however, as octopuses, they are ...

). The shell is usually approximately 80 mm in length, although it can exceed 90 mm in exceptional specimens; the world record size is 98.6 mm. This species seems to have a relatively limited

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

confined to the waters surrounding Western Mexico and

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. For this reason, it is considered one of the rarest of the ''Argonauta'' species. The taxonomic status of this species is questionable. Further research is needed to determine whether it is a valid species or a synonym of the highly variable '' A. hians''. The type locality of ''A. cornuta'' is unknown. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

is deposited at the

Academy of Natural Sciences The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natur ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

.Current Classification of Recent Cephalopoda
/ref>

References

* Sweeney, M. J. (2002)
Taxa Associated with the Family Argonautidae Tryon, 1879.
''Tree of Life web project''.

External links

Information on the genus ''Argonauta''

cornuta Cornuta is an extinct order of echinoderms. Along with the mitrates, they form the Stylophora The stylophorans are an extinct, possibly polyphyletic group allied to the Paleozoic Era echinoderms, comprising the prehistoric cornutes and mitr ...

Cephalopods described in 1854 Taxa named by Timothy Abbott Conrad {{octopus-stub