Enteroctopus zealandicus
| Yellow octopus | |
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| Enteroctopus zealandicus. Photo by Darren Stevens, NIWA | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Family: | Enteroctopodidae |
| Genus: | Enteroctopus |
| Species: | E. zealandicus
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| Binomial name | |
| Enteroctopus zealandicus (Benham, 1944)
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| Range of Enteroctopus zealandicus | |
| Synonyms | |
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Enteroctopus zealandicus, the yellow octopus, is a large octopus of the genus Enteroctopus. It is endemic to the waters surrounding New Zealand.
Description
[edit]Enteroctopus zealandicus has the distinctive characteristics of the genus Enteroctopus, including longitudinal folds on the body and large paddle-like papillae. E. zealandicus is a large octopus, reaching a total length of at least 1.4 metres (4 ft 7 in),[1] though few whole samples have been collected and this is only a guide.
Range and habitat
[edit]Enteroctopus zealandicus is endemic to New Zealand. Samples have been collected along the east coast of the south island, Chatham Rise, Campbell Plateau, Stewart, Auckland and Antipodes Islands; and from the surface down to 530 metres (1,740 ft) depth.[1] There is an absence of published information about the preferred habitat or diet of this species.
Predators
[edit]Enteroctopus zealandicus is one of the most important prey of New Zealand sea lions at the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island, in the New Zealand Subantarctic.[2][3][4] It has also been identified from beaks found in the gut of beached whales.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b O'Shea, S. (1999). "Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda)". NIWA Biodiversity Memoir. 112, New Zealand.
- ^ Childerhouse, S (2001). "Diet of New Zealand sea lions at the Auckland Islands". Wildlife Research. 28: 291–298. doi:10.1071/wr00063.
- ^ Meynier, L (2009). "Variability in the diet of New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) at the Auckland Islands, New Zealand". Marine Mammal Science. 25: 302–326. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00252.x.
- ^ Roberts, J; Lalas, C (2015). "Diet of New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) at their southern breeding limits". Polar Biology. 38: 1483–1491. doi:10.1007/s00300-015-1710-3.
- ^ "Story: Octopus and squid". Te Papa. Retrieved 9 Oct 2015.
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