Opisthoteuthis californiana


Opisthoteuthis californiana, also known as the flapjack octopus, is a species of umbrella octopus.

Description

The flapjack octopus usually appear dark red. Their maximum size is mantle length. They have eight jointed legs which are affixed together in an umbrella shape. They have a gelatinous body, which spreads into a parachute shape when maneuvering through dimly lit water. The flapjack preys on small fishes and planktonic crustaceans. They swim by moving their fins, pulsing their webbed arms, pushing water through their funnel for jet propulsion, or all three at once. Their depth range is: Para-larvae, adults.

Distribution

This species has been reported off Eureka Bar, California, at. It is also known from Japan, off Kashima-Nada, at. Nesis reports it from the Bering Sea to the Sea of Okhotsk to off central Honshū.

Classification

The Opisthoteuthis californiana is one of 14 species in the genus Opisthoteuthis. These species are also collectively known as the flapjack devilfishes.
Species of Opisthoteuthis are the most compressed, in the anterior-posterior axis, of any cephalopod. This flattened appearance gives them the common name of flapjack or pancake devilfish. Species are thought to be primarily benthic although they are capable of swimming and in some species the swimming may be an important component of their pouncing on minute prey. As in other cirrates, most species are poorly known.

Popular culture

ChuChu from Kirby's Dream Land 3 is a flapjack octopus. In Finding Nemo, one of Nemo's classmates, Pearl, is a flapjack octopus. Lenny the flapjack octopus is the main character in a children's book The Adventures of a Flapjack Octopus.