Eledone moschata
Eledone moschata, the musky octopus, is a species of octopus belonging to the family Octopodidae.
Taxonomy
The skin of the single specimen of Eledone microsicya is very similar to the skin of Eledone moschata and some authorities take the view that E. microsicya is not a valid taxon and represents a Red Sea population of the otherwise Mediteraranean E. moschata with which it should synonymised.Distribution
The musky octopus is found throughout the Mediterranean Sea, and is occasionally found in adjacent parts of the Atlantic Ocean, around the Gulf of Cadiz and off the coast of Portugal.Habitat
The musky octopus occurs on the sandy bottom of the continental platform, at depths up to. Usually it lives burrowed into the sediments.Description
The largest recorded musky octopus was a male with a mantle length of, a total length of and a mass of, caught in the Gulf of İzmir, in the Aegean Sea. This small species has a head smaller than the body, with protruding eyes. The eight tentacles are relatively short and have one row of suckers. The third right arm is specialized to store and transfer spermatophores to the female. The basic color of the body is gray-brown, with dark, brown to blackish spots.Eledone moschata is closely related to the horned octopus, Eledone cirrhosa, but can be distinguished by a number of features; for example, E. moschata has smooth skin and smells of musk, while E. cirrhosa has warty skin and no musky odour.