Eledone cirrhosa
<p><em>Eledone cirrhosa</em> (Lamarck, 1798)</p>
Eledone cirrhosa. Mantle an oval bag, fused with head dorsally. Ventral exhalent respiratory funnel extended from right. April 2010. North Wales.
Eledone cirrhosa
From Norway and Iceland to Mediterranean. Commonest in northern part of distribution; pest species for lobster fishermen in Orkney. (GBIF map) . Some northern records of Octopus vulgaris may be misidentified Eledone cirrhosa. Many records in seas all round Britain, except few along E & S coasts from Whitby to Torquay. UK interactive distribution map, (NBN).
Usually sublittoral to 120m. Mainly benthic, moving on arms, but jet propels water from exhalent funnel for rapid escape [5]. When threatened, can eject distracting ink before jetting away. Predators include seals and man. Crabs and lobsters eaten, including those in lobster pots. Vestigial skeleton enables it to squeeze through gaps no wider than its beak. Up to 60 eggs laid. Young hatch as miniature adults and drift in plankton for a time.
Octopus vulgaris Cuvier,1797
Body