User:Agomez82/sandbox

Description
There are few recorded sightings or collected specimens of  vitreledonella richardi, or  Glass Octopuses,  many specimens that have been collected come from the stomachs of its predators. Vitreledonella richardi is a transparent, gelatinous, and almost colorless meso- to bathypelagic octopod found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas with a mantle length up to 11 cm (4.3 in) and a total length up to 45 cm (18 in) in adults.

Anatomy
The upper three pairs of arms are subequal in length; in juveniles about as long as the mantle, in adults two to three times mantle length. The fourth, ventral pair is slightly shorter. Suckers are small, widely separated, and in a single series. In males, the left arm III is hectocotylized, with a spherical vesicle near the tip, but is not detachable. The large ampulla and the elongate accessory gland lie out among the internal reproductive organs, notable among mature males alongside its reproductive anatomical counterparts. Its eyes are rectangular, as seen from the side. In accordance to its eyes; Two Vitreledonella richardi specimens obtained at 200 m in the North Atlantic were used to characterize the elongated eye. It is demonstrated that the cylindrical design, with the lens centered, results in a restricted horizontal field of vision. The unique morphology is thought to be an adaptation that reduces the eye's silhouette when viewed from below, and is part of the animal's camouflage technique.The radula is heterodont, also known as heteroglossan, in which the middle or rhachidian tooth in each array has multiple cusps and the lateral teeth are unicuspid. The upper jaw of the Vitreledonella is brittle making the teeth difficult to see, while the lower jaw is unsubstantial just as the upper jaw. When obtaining their food, the vitreledonella uses its beak to grasp onto their prey, feeding on the prey’s flesh. In the early stages of the Vitreledonella’s development, the teeth are weak and underdeveloped as a result they prey on aquatic life that has a soft exoskeleton. In its later stages of development, the vitreledonella’s beak starts to become more developed which allows them to prey on creatures with a stronger exoskeleton.

Mating and Birthing
Vitreledonella richardi is ovoviviparous. The female broods her eggs, of which hundreds are within the mantle cavity. Each egg measures about 4 mm (0.16 in) in length. Newborn larvae have a mantle length of around 2.2 mm (0.087 in). The Marine Science Institute conducted a series of trials with O. Bimaculoides to gain more information about how octopi reproduce. After conducting the trials, they concluded that male O. Bimaculoides are able to sense when a female is ready to mate, so the male will perform a display of shows to try and draw the female in for mating. Once the male successfully attracts the female and mating begins, the male will insert his hectocotylus into the female's mantle cavity and the fertilization process begins. The mother's purpose is to reproduce, so the female grows weak during reproduction and quickly passes away after giving birth. The young paralarvae are left to fend for themselves as the mother quickly passes away after their birth. [1] The life cycle of the Vitreledonella richardi begins when the embryo in the egg hatches. Before maturing, the Vitreledonella richardi lives in the planktonic stage. After being in the planktonic stage for a period of time, the juvenile Vitreledonella richardi will mature and develop into an adult living in benthic depths.

Maturation & Method
Scholars in the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument contend that the glass octopus consumes organisms that are available for consumption in both the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones, this includes crustaceans including marine snails, small clams, and mollusks. Recent cases reported by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, conducted an experiment that later concluded young paralarvae beaks change as they get older, along with the depth of water in which they want to live in.[6] In further examination of the Vitreledonella during the paralarvae stage, the glass octopus has teeth that allows them to obtain food by suctioning the internal fluids of its prey. Once they get older, the diet of the adult glass octopus changes to more hard bodied prey. Due to the shift in diet, the adult will lose their teeth and develop a stronger beak to allow them to break down and consume the harder bodied prey easier.[6]With their diet changing, they are predicted to move up from deeper levels (between 310 and 440, but can be as far as 1000m) to the subsurface (between 110 and 300m) as they get older.

Ecology[edit]-How they interact with other aquatic animals in their environment
Found mostly in the tropic and subtropic regions of seas worldwide, the Glass Octopus is prey to the feeding ecology of Northern Bottlenose whales. More specifically noted is that of Tåsinge whale.]