| Octopoda Temporal range: 323 mya Upper Carboniferous – present | |
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| The common octopus, Octopus vulgaris. | |
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| Order: | Octopoda |
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Octopoda is one of the largest orders which contain the common octopus and some other types. Fossils are rare, but they do have a fossil record starting in the later Carboniferous.
Octopods are put into two suborders. One, the Incirrina, is composed of the well-known Octopus of rocky shores and coral reefs and its relatives. The other suborder, the Cirrina, contains octopods whose tentacles are linked by an umbrella-like mantle, so their activity is rather different from the common octopus.
