Microeledone
Genus of mollusc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microeledone is a genus of octopus from the family Megaleledonidae. As of May 2026[update], it contains two species, Microeledone mangoldi and Microeledone galapagensis.
M. mangoldi
| Microeledone | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Family: | Megaleledonidae |
| Genus: | Microeledone Norman, Hochberg & Boucher-Rodoni, 2004 |
| Species: | M. mangoldi |
| Binomial name | |
| Microeledone mangoldi Norman, Hochberg & Boucher-Rodoni, 2004[1] | |
Microeledone mangoldi, the sickle-tooth pygmy octopus,[2] is a species of octopus from the genus described in 2004. The type specimen was a male collected from a depth of approximately 1,000 m (3,300 ft) near the Norfolk Ridge, in the southwest Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia. It is a very small octopus which has a single row of suckers, lacks an ink sac and has a radula with seven rows of teeth with the unique central tooth, called the rechidian tooth, being curved with a grooved tip. The remaining teeth are flat and plate like and so are also distinctive.[3] The smooth creamy-pink body lacks any chromatophores.[2] The specific name honours the Swiss malacologist and marine biologist Katharina Mangold-Wirz (1922–2003).[4]
M. galapagensis
Microeledone galapagensis is a species of octopus described in 2026. Its type specimen is a female collected off the coast of Darwin Island of the Galápagos from a depth of 1,773 m (5,817 ft).[5]