''Grimpoteuthis meangensis'' is known from either one or two specimens, though the second may be of a completely different species. The first was damaged. Both were found by

William Evans Hoyle Dr William Evans Hoyle FRSE (28 January 1855 – 7 February 1926) was a British zoologist. A specialist in deep sea creatures, he worked on classification and illustrations from the Challenger expedition, ''Challenger'' expedition from 1882 ...

within one year of each other, and no other animals of the species have been identified since 1886.

Description and habitat

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 ...

, or original specimen, was found off the south Philippines. It lives about 1,000 meters beneath the water's surface. Like other members of its family,

Opisthoteuthidae Opisthoteuthidae, from Ancient Greek ὄπισθεν (''ópisthen''), meaning "back", and τευθίς (''teuthís''), meaning "squid", known as umbrella octopuses, are a group of pelagic octopuses. Umbrella octopuses are characterized by a w ...

, ''G. meangensis'' could be

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer o ...

. The second specimen was discovered 2,000 meters south of where the first specimen was found. This octopus' mantle reaches 53 millimeters long, and it weighs at least 1,345 grams when wet. Every arm has between 60 and 70 suckers, which are small. Like other cirrates, ''G. meangensis'' has a web covering its arms to some degree; the web of ''G. meangensis'' covers the majority of its arms. The cirri on these arms are short. The fins ''G. meangensis'' uses to swim almost equal its body length; its eyes are large. The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

within its body has a shape which differentiates it from other members of the genus ''Grimpoteuthis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1951319 Octopuses Cephalopods of Oceania Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Cephalopods described in 1885