Science People ‘Rarely Seen’ Seven-Arm Octopus Spotted Off California Coast for 4th Time in 4 Decades

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NEED TO KNOW

• A seven-arm octopus was spotted in Monterey Bay in Nov. 6

• The deep-sea octopus is “rarely seen,” per the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, which has only seen it four times in four decades

• Researchers collected detailed observations about the octopus during the rare encounter

A seldom-spotted deep-sea octopus was seen off of the coast of California in November, marking just the fourth sighting in as many decades.

The evasive creature, called the seven-arm octopus, was spotted in Monterey Bay during a research expedition on Nov. 6, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

While sharing footage of the rare sighting, the institute said that MBARI scientists and researchers spotted the animal — which is also known as septopus, blob octopus or its scientific name, Haliphron atlanticus — on Nov. 6 at approximately 2,300 feet below sea level.

The sighting “marked just our fourth observation of this species in nearly four decades of ocean exploration,” the MBARI noted.

The team that spotted the deep-sea octopus, which the MBARI describes as a “rarely seen giant,” was able to collect detailed observations about its behavior — including the fact that the creature had a jellyfish in its grasp during the sighting.

The so-called septopus was “clutching” a crimson red helmet jelly, the institute said, noting that the creature feeds on gelatinous animals — a tidbit revealed through previous research by Henk-Jan Hoving, an MBARI collaborator.

Steven Haddock, a senior scientist with the MBARI who was on the Nov. 6 expedition, told The Los Angeles Times that “to be able to confirm our first observation with this new sighting was informative because this octopus was holding a different, deeper-living type of jellyfish than we’d seen before.”

During a previous seven-arm octopus encounter in 2017, the septopus was also “clutching” a jellyfish, this time an egg-yolk jelly, per the institute. Further analysis of museum specimens’ stomach contents confirmed that seven-arm octopus feeds on jellyfish and other gelatinous animals.

Speaking with The L.A. Times, Haddock expressed glee over not only spotting but learning more about the unusual deep-sea creatures.

“It was super exciting for me to see this species that I had only seen once before,” the scientist told the newspaper. “It is also interesting that this octopus is one of the largest known species, yet it reaches these sizes [on] a gelatinous diet.”

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Aside from their hidden tentacle, the rarely-seen octopi are also known for their size, per the MBARI — or at least, female seven-arm octopi are.

“While female seven-arm octopus can reach enormous sizes and can weigh up to 75 kilograms (165 pounds), the males are much smaller,” the institute website notes, adding that the male septopus will “typically” reach around 8 inches in length.

And, despite its name, the seven-arm octopus actually has eight tentacles — just like any other octopus. There is a simple explanation for this misconception, however, per the MBARI’s website.

“As is typical of octopuses, male Haliphron atlanticus have a specialized hectocotylus arm for transferring sperm during mating. They tend to keep this arm tucked into a sac beneath their right eye, giving the appearance of only seven arms,” the website states.

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