The Lesser Octopus (Eledone cirrhosa)

Picture by John Liddiard.

The above octopus with up to 20 inches (50 cm) body length is smaller than the common octopus, but occurs together with the latter in the Mediterranean region and in the north-eastern Atlantic Sea. It lives in depths of up to 1500 ft (500 m).

The lesser octopus can be distinguished from the common octopus by its tentacles only provided with a single row of suckers, while the common octopus has two rows of suckers on each arm. The lesser octopus' suckers can stand alternating so they make a zigzag pattern.