Lepidoctopus joaquini is a little-known species of small octopus in the family Octopodidae. It is the only known species in the monotypic genus Lepidoctopus, and is endemic to the Amazon Reef system of the Atlantic Ocean, where it lives in benthic habitats. It was discovered during surveys that attempted to map the cephalopod diversity of the reef system by analyzing the stomach contents of southern red snappers (Lutjanus purpureus), and is currently only known from specimens found in such stomach contents. Genetic analysis of the specimens has found Lepidoctopus to be a basal member of the Octopodidae that represents a clade distinct from all other genera in the family. It can be physically distinguished from other octopodids by the large overlapping dermal cushions on its body, which give it a distinctly "scaly" appearance.[1][2]
| Lepidoctopus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Family: | Octopodidae |
| Genus: | Lepidoctopus Haimovici and Sales, 2019 |
| Species: | L. joaquini
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lepidoctopus joaquini | |
References
edit- ^ Schneider, Horacio; Sampaio, Iracilda; Asp, Nils Edvin; Costa, Luis Fernando Carvalho; Jessica de Cassia Silva Pinon; Ferreira, Yrlene; Souza, Rosália Furtado; Ready, Jonathan Stuart; Haimovici, Manuel (2019-04-11). "Surveying cephalopod diversity of the Amazon reef system using samples from red snapper stomachs and description of a new genus and species of octopus". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 5956. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.5956D. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42464-8. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6459862. PMID 30976082.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Lepidoctopus joaquini Haimovici & Sales, 2019". marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2019-05-10.