Cephalopod · finned octopus

Umbrella octopus

Cirroteuthis muelleri

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic Found in 3 oceans

Depth

About 700 to 4,850 m

Size

Up to 1.5 m

Diet

Small crustaceans and marine worms from the seafloor

Zone

Midnight zone · 1,000 m and deeper

Key facts

• It drifts in open water, arms and web spread like an umbrella.
• It descends to the seafloor to eat, lands all at once and wraps its prey in its web.
• When it lands, it leaves octagonal prints on the mud, 22 cm across on average.
• It swims with two large ear-shaped fins.

Verified sources

1. GEOMAR : Miles down for lunch
2. MBARI Deep-Sea Guide : Cirroteuthis muelleri
3. PANGAEA : Video observations of Cirroteuthis muelleri
4. IFLScience (Proc. R. Soc. B 2023) : octagons on the seafloor

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Pacific sleeper sharkSomniosus pacificus Arctic Botrynema jellyfishBotrynema ellinorae (or B. brucei ellinorae) Antarctic deep-sea smeltBathylagus antarcticus Pigbutt wormChaetopterus pugaporcinus Helmet jellyfishPeriphylla periphylla Atolla jellyfishAtolla wyvillei