Inopinoteuthis
Inopinoteuthis is a genus of deepsea octopuses from the cirrate family Cirroteuthidae. The two recognized species are fragile, gelatinous deep-sea octopods with a large 'butterfly-shaped' shell.
One of the two species, I. magna, attains the greatest size of any cirrate octopus at 1.7 m long.
Species and taxonomy
The two species have formerly been included in Cirrothauma. Both Cirrothauma and Inopinoteuthis have butterfly-shaped shells, and much longer arms than the related Cirroteuthis.Genera Cirrothauma and Inopinoteuthis can be separated given the presence of well-developed eyes on Inopinoteuthis as well as the presence of functional suckers with suction chambers on Inopinoteuthis.