''Inopinoteuthis'' 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 ...

of deepsea

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 from the cirrate

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 ...

Cirroteuthidae Cirroteuthidae is a family of pelagic cirrate octopuses comprising at least five species in three genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil o ...

. The two recognized species are fragile, gelatinous deep-sea octopods with a large 'butterfly-shaped' shell. One of the two species, ''I. magna'', attains the greatest size of any cirrate octopus at 1.7 m long.

Species and taxonomy

The two species have formerly been included in ''Cirrothauma''. Both ''Cirrothauma'' and ''Inopinoteuthis'' have butterfly-shaped shells, and much longer arms than the related ''Cirroteuthis'' (the two genera also lack the web nodules found on ''Cirroteuthis'', and have fewer gill lamellae). Genera ''Cirrothauma'' and ''Inopinoteuthis'' can be separated given the presence of well-developed eyes on ''Inopinoteuthis'' (vs. vestigial eyes on ''Cirrothauma'') as well as the presence of functional suckers with suction chambers on ''Inopinoteuthis'' (''Cirrothauma'' have minute vestigial suckers atop elongate fleshy stalks across the mid-distal arm regions).

Species

There are two recognized species within the genus ''Inopinoteuthis''. * '' Inopinoteuthis magna'' (Hoyle, 1885): originally described in genus ''Cirroteuthis.'' * '' Inopinoteuthis hoylei'' (Robson, 1932): originally described in genus ''Cirroteuthis.''

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q133843982 Octopuses Cephalopod genera