Grimpoteuthis boylei is a species of octopus known from only ten individuals.
Description
The Grimpoteuthis Boylei is a pelagic umbrella octopus, also known as the "dumbo octopus" because it breaks resemblance to the title character of Disney's film Dumbo, 1941.[4] It is large,[5] reaching a total length of 470 millimeters (18.5 inches).[6][7] Like all cirrates, it has a web over its arms and cirri between its suckers, as well as fins for swimming and a hard shell inside its mantle. G. boylei has a shell shaped like a saddle.
It is likely that G. boylei is demersal. While population size is unknown, G. boylei is classified as "Least Concern" because it lives at such extreme depths.[2]
Characteristics
G. boylei has a life span between 3 and 5 years. The octopus has small fins that are used to propel themselves in order to move as well as to crawl on the seafloor and to capture prey.
Feeding
G. boylei search for prey as they hover over the sea floor. They commonly search for polychaete worms, pelagic copepods, isopods, amphipods, and other crustaceans for food. They capture their prey by pouncing, then swallowing their prey whole.[8]
Threats
Facing few threats from humans, the main threats that the octopus faces are from predators such as sharks and predatory cephalopods. The G. boylei have chromatophore cells which allow for them to change colors such as red, white, pink, brown, or camouflage in order to blend into their surroundings and avoid predators.[9]
^Gibson, R. N.; Atkinson, R. J. A.; Gordon, J. D. M. (2006). Oceanography and Marine
Biology: An Annual Review, Volume 44. CRC Press. p. 316. ISBN 9781420006391.
^Hadjisolomou, Stavros P. (March 2017). "SpotMetrics: An Open-Source Image-Analysis Software Plugin for Automatic Chromatophore Detection and Measurement". Frontiers in Physiology. 8: 106.