Kingdom Animalia Family Ocythoidae
Gray, 1849 Phylum Mollusca Rank Species | Superfamily Argonautoida Scientific name Ocythoe tuberculata Higher classification Ocythoe Order Octopus | |
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Genus Ocythoe
Rafinesque, 1814 Similar Octopus, Argonautidae, Bolitaenidae, Seven‑arm octopus, Amphitretus | ||
Ocythoe tuberculata, also known as the tuberculate pelagic octopus or football octopus, is a pelagic octopus. It is the only known species in the family Ocythoidae.
Ocythoe tuberculata is found in warm and temperate seas, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, such as the North Pacific Ocean off California.
Description
The females are around 1 m (3.3 ft) long when full-grown. The males are considerably smaller, around 10 cm (3.9 in).
As a species, they are unique among cephalopods in possessing a true gas bladder. They are also one of the only known ovoviviparous cephalopod species. It is relatively unresearched in terms of behaviour and lifecycle.
Young females and mature males have been observed residing inside salps, although little is known about this relationship.