Diaphanous pelagic octopod

Japetella diaphana

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth100–1,750 m
Water temperature5–30 °C
Best monthsFebruary, April, and September
How commonOccasional

About this species

Japetella diaphana, also known as the midwater octopus, is a species of pelagic deep-sea octopus from the subfamily Bolitaeninae in the family Amphitretidae. It inhabits the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones of all three major oceans, and is known for its transparent body and bioluminescence. The midwater octopus is also noted for its high tolerance to hypoxia, and is able to live in a wide range of oxygen levels.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Japetella diaphana”, 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: 0 records
February: 30 records
March: 27 records
April: 31 records
May: 19 records
June: 13 records
July: 4 records
August: 2 records
September: 37 records
October: 24 records
November: 14 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 100–1,750 m · Deepest record: 3,000 m

0–10 m: 3 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 3 records
70–80 m: 9 records
80–90 m: 4 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 27 records
110+ m: 389 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–30 °C

4–6 °C: 5 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 10 records
10–12 °C: 2 records
12–14 °C: 2 records
14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 12 records
18–20 °C: 14 records
20–22 °C: 45 records
22–24 °C: 74 records
24–26 °C: 40 records
26–28 °C: 179 records
28–30 °C: 109 records

Names and classification

English: Diaphanous pelagic octopod, Diaphanous Pelagic Octopus

Names in 5 more languages

Spanish: Pelagopulpo translucido
French: Poulpe pélagique translucide
Japanese: ナツメダコ
Thai: ปลาหมึกวุ้นตาโต
Simplified Chinese: Zhà-Bō-Xiāo, 乍波蛸

Other scientific names: Dorsopsis taningi, Eledonella diaphana, Japetella taningi

Similar species

Telescope octopus
Amphitretus pelagicus
Amphitretus thielei
Pygmy pelagic octopus
Bolitaena 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).
502 open-data records from 1885 to 2020.

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