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Revision as of 21:54, 14 March 2003 by Dominus (talk | contribs) (punctuation and grammar)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The octopus is a cephalopod that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. Octopuses are characterized by their eight legs (properly called "tentacles"), usually with sucker cups on them. They are highly intelligent, but have a very short life span.
Placement
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Mollusca
- Class Cephalopoda
- Order Octopoda
- Family Octopodidae
- Genus Octopus
Synonyms and common names
Octopus
Other members of Octopodidae are also called "octopus".
A note on the plural: Fowler states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses", and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic. That having been said Merriam-Webster now accepts octopi as a plural form. Word formation based on misconception is a rather common occurrence ( See: pea, lase, ... ) The collective form octopus is also used, but is usually reserved for animals consumed for food.
References
http://www.cephbase.dal.ca/spdb/genusgroup.cfm?Genus=Octopus as of 2002-07-09
Children
- Subgenus Abdopus
- O. abaculus
- O. aculeatus
- O. capricornicus
- O. tonganus
- Subgenus Octopus
- O. adamsi
- O. aegina
- O. alatus
- O. alecto
- O. alpheus
- O. araneoides
- O. arborescens
- O. areolatus
- O. aspilosomatis
- O. australis
- O. balboai
- O. berrima
- O. bimaculatus
- O. bimaculoides
- O. bocki
- O. briareus
- O. brocki
- O. bunurong
- O. burryi
- O. californicus
- O. campbelli
- O. carolinensis
- O. chierchiae
- O. conispadiceus
- O. cyanea
- O. defilippi
- O. dierythraeus
- O. digueti
- O. exannulatus
- O. fangsiao etchuanus
- O. fangsiao typicus
- O. favonius
- O. filamentosus
- O. filosus
- O. fitchi
- O. fujitai
- O. gardineri
- O. gibbsi
- O. globosus
- O. graptus
- O. guangdongensis
- O. hardwickei
- O. hattai
- O. hongkongensis
- O. hubbsorum
- O. joubini
- O. kagoshimensis
- O. kaharoa
- O. kaurna
- O. lobensis
- O. longispadiceus
- O. luteus
- O. macropus
- O. maorum
- O. marginatus
- O. maya
- O. membranaceus
- O. mercatoris
- O. mernoo
- O. microphthalmus
- O. micropyrsus
- O. mimus
- O. minor minor
- O. minor pardalis
- O. minor typicus
- O. mototi
- O. mutilans
- O. nanhaiensis
- O. nanus
- O. neglectus
- O. niveus
- O. nocturnus
- O. occidentalis
- O. ochotensis
- O. oculifer
- O. oliveri
- O. ornatus
- O. oshimai
- O. ovulum
- O. pallidus
- O. parvus
- O. penicillifer
- O. pentherinus
- O. polyzenia
- O. prashadi
- O. pricei
- O. pumilus
- O. pyrum
- O. rapanui
- O. rex
- O. robsoni
- O. roosevelti
- O. rubescens
- O. salutii
- O. sanctaehelenae
- O. sasakii
- O. selene
- O. siamensis
- O. spinosus
- O. striolatus
- O. superciliosus
- O. taprobanensis
- O. tehuelchus
- O. tenebricus
- O. tetricus
- O. tsugarensis
- O. validus
- O. varunae
- O. veligero
- O. verrucosus
- O. vitiensis
- O. warringa
- O. winckworthi
- O. wolfi
- O. yendoi
- O. zonatus