Pygmy pelagic octopus

Bolitaena pygmaea

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth164–2,120 m
Water temperature10–29 °C
Best monthsMarch
How commonRare

About this species

Bolitaena pygmaea is a species of Octopoda in the family Amphitretidae. B. Pygmaea are often found in tropical and subtropical water not including the southwest part of the Atlantic ranging in depths between 100 and 1400 meters.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Bolitaena pygmaea”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 7 records
February: 10 records
March: 50 records
April: 15 records
May: 3 records
June: 17 records
July: 7 records
August: 16 records
September: 10 records
October: 7 records
November: 4 records
December: 1 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 164–2,120 m · Deepest record: 5,393 m

0–10 m: 2 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 161 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–29 °C

8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 2 records
12–14 °C: 3 records
14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 6 records
18–20 °C: 6 records
20–22 °C: 16 records
22–24 °C: 102 records
24–26 °C: 20 records
26–28 °C: 27 records
28–30 °C: 24 records

Names and classification

English: Pygmy pelagic octopus, Pygmy Pelagic Octopod

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: Pelagopulpo pigmeo
French: Poulpe pélagique pygmée
Thai: ปลาหมึกวุ้นแคระ
Simplified Chinese: Dān-Pán-Xiāo, 單盤蛸

Other scientific names: Bolitaena microcotyla, Bolitaena microtyla, Eledonella pygmaea

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
256 open-data records from 1873 to 2016.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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