Gunter's octopus (Thaumeledone gunteri)
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from SeaLifeBase, conservation from IUCN Red List, description from Wikipedia.
Thaumeledone gunteri is a species of small, benthic, deep-sea octopus found in the bathyal zone in the Southern Ocean near South Georgia.
- Scientific name
- Thaumeledone gunteri
- Authority
- G. C. Robson, 1930
- Family
- Megaleledonidae
- Order
- Octopoda
- Habitat zone
- benthic
- Iucn red list
- Least Concern
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Mollusca · Class: Cephalopoda · Order: Octopoda · Family: Megaleledonidae · Genus: Thaumeledone.
Accepted name: Thaumeledone gunteri · Authority: G. C. Robson, 1930 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 342262.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=342262 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)
Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Thaumeledone gunteri. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Habitat zone: benthic.
Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 57688) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Thaumeledone-gunteri.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Conservation status (IUCN Red List)
The IUCN Red List assesses Thaumeledone gunteri Robson, 1930 as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.
Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 162708) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/162708/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2289373) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2289373/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
The mantle length of Thaumeledone gunteri is typically about 5 cm and the total length is 10 cm, the arms being relatively short at 5 cm. The background colour is whitish, but the dorsal and ventral surfaces are covered by large, irregular, deep purple tubercles. The web linking the arms is uniformly pale. The head is narrower than the mantle, with several large tubercles above the eye. The eight arms are joined by a deep web, with about 35 small suckers on each arm. The funnel organ is "VV"-shaped and there are five elements in the radula. The posterior salivary gland, a diagnostic feature in this genus, has a diameter of 11 mm.
The funnel organ in T. gunteri is similar to that in Thaumeledone peninsulae and they both share a characteristic loop in the rectum. Thaumeledone rotunda is a circumpolar species found at greater depths and has several morphological features differing from the other two species. Despite this, a phylogenetic study undertaken in 2008 of the molecular relationships in the genus, determined that T. gunteri and T. rotunda are sister taxa and that T. peninsulae is more distantly related.
T. gunteri is found in the far south Atlantic Ocean in an area around South Georgia, including the Shag Rocks, ranging from 53°S to 55°S and 39°W to 35°W. It has been caught by trawling at depths of 364 - 964 m, but may well occur at greater depths, as these waters are relatively underexplored.
Source: Wikipedia: Thaumeledone gunteri — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaumeledone_gunteri (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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