Most species of Grimpoteuthis [dumbos] are poorly known. They are somewhat less compressed in the anterior-posterior axis than are members of Opisthoteuthis [flapjacks] and they generally have relatively larger fins.However, intra-generic variety is considerable. By which I mean: each genus contains a number of different species, some more squashed than others. Since Pearl's antero-posteral flattening is minimal, I maintain that
she's a dumbo, but we may never know definitively which octopus
inspired her artists.
Grimpoteuthis and Opisthoteuthis belong to the same octopod family, Opisthoteuthidae, which contains three other genera of deep-sea octopods: Cirroctopus, Luteuthis, and Cryptoteuthis. (Since "teuthis" technically means squid, only one of these names isn't a misnomer, but, well, there you go.)
Unlike the dumbos and flapjacks, none of these three genera have common names, so here are my humble suggestions:
Cirroctopus:
Freaktopus
(Yeah, it's a little bit on the grotesque side, but that's the fault of the fixative more than anything.)
Luteuthis:
Braintopus
And my personal favorite, Cryptoteuthis:
The head crab!
(See, this was the conversation that just happened in my house:
Me: Look at this freaky cephalopod!
Spouse: AHHH HEAD CRAB AHHHH.
Me, vaguely disturbed: What is a head crab!
Spouse: They are from a game called Half Life.
Me: Oh, I think I saw those on Penny Arcade.
Indeed, the resemblance is uncanny:
)
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