Species · accepted · checked 2026-08-05

Japetella diaphana

Diaphanous pelagic octopod

WoRMS 138849ITIS 82655GBIF 2289230key worms:138849

2026-08-05: itis_id 82655 via WoRMS external link

Silhouette · Noah Schlottman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · PhyloPic, drawn from Octopoda

Diaphanous pelagic octopod16 cm

bongo net ring71 cm

max · sealifebase

Photograph of Japetella diaphana — Photo · Ewald Rübsamen, no known copyright restrictions (public domain) · Public domain · inat

Japetella diaphana, also known as the midwater octopus, is a species of pelagic deep-sea octopus from the subfamily Bolitaeninae in the family Amphitretidae. It inhabits the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones of all three major oceans, and is known for its transparent body and bioluminescence.W CalCOFI holds 34 observations of it in 1 dataset between 2003 and 2022, as invert.R

34
observations: 34
records: 34
sampling events: 2003–2022
years: 1
datasets: invert
life stages

Observed in
i
One row per dataset, one cell per year, darker with more observations — the same strip the front door draws per dataset. Each row ends with the name that dataset uses (dataset_taxon); the accepted name is written once, in the title above. A quiet pill marks a name the authority does not accept.

Ichthyoplankton 34 obs · 34 events · 2003–2022 · invert
name used: Japetella diaphana · code 9752

How big is it
i
Every mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Ways in
i
Read from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.

Explorer db-query

ERDDAPCalCOFI's own server, the Ichthyoplankton table constrained to this taxon

https://erddap.calcofi.io/erddap/tabledap/swfsc_ichthyo.html?&taxon_key=%22worms:138849%22

Japetella diaphana

How big is itiEvery mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Ways iniRead from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.

How big is it
i
Every mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Ways in
i
Read from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.