Monster octopi with scores of extra tentacles
In nature, it is quite rare to encounter octopi with extra tentacles (or “arms,” for the purists), but a pair of aquariums in Japan’s Mie prefecture have some extraordinary specimens on hand.
The permanent display at the Shima Marineland Aquarium in the town of Shima includes a 96-tentacled Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that weighed 3.3 kilograms (about 7 lbs) and measured 90 centimeters (3 ft) long when it was captured in nearby Matoya Bay in December 1998. Before dying 5 months later, the creature laid eggs, making it the first known extra-tentacled octopus to do so in captivity. All the baby octopi hatched with the normal number of tentacles, but unfortunately they only survived a month.
96-tentacled octopus laying eggs
The preserved octopus actually has the normal number of 8 appendages attached to its body, but each one branches out to form the multitude of extra tentacles. Apparently there is no theory that fully explains the surplus tentacles, but they are believed to be the result of abnormal regeneration that occurred after the octopus suffered some sort of injury.
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The Toba Aquarium in the nearby town of Toba also has a few extraordinary octopus specimens, although they no longer appear to be on permanent display. Every now and then, though, the aquarium pulls them out of storage for the world to see.
85-tentacled octopus at Toba Aquarium
Their most well-known specimen is an 85-tentacled Common Octopus captured in 1957 at nearby Toshijima island. This remarkable creature — which, like the Shima Marineland octopus, has 8 main arms that branch out to form scores of tentacles — made quite a stir when it first went on display at Toba Aquarium a half-century ago. A few years later, the specimen was loaned to the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, where it famously caught the attention of the Showa Emperor.
The renowned creature eventually returned to Toba and went on permanent display until the aquarium moved to a new location in 1985, at which time it was placed in storage. Twenty years later, in 2005, the specimen entered the spotlight again when it was put on temporary display.
In the 50 years since the 85-tentacled octopus was captured, the Toba Aquarium has exhibited 6 other mutant octopi, most of them alive for a time, and each with between 9 and 56 tentacles.
[Related: Photo: Nine-tentacled octopus]
Those extra legs just BLEW MY MIND MAN! @.@
… I’m freaking out! *runs around*
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Old Ones are returning…
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If it had 1,000 tentacles, it’d be a millipus! ;D
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Are these multipuses proficient / fully dexterous with all the sub-tentacles on a primary tentacle or do they use the sub-tentacles in a bunch like they were one tentacle?
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Like Torley said, if they have more then 8 legs, it can’t be called an octopus.
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Transgenic of Japanese industry.
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Im in yr oshunz, waving my xtra arms
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HEEBIE JEEBIE-INDUCING POST OF THE DAY: THE OCTOPUS WITH 96 TENTACLES
Too many tentacles
for one octopus
to be writhing
You re gonna writhe
writhe, writhe, writhe
ninety-six tentacles
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Somebody call Bob Kline. “I want GOOD science - they found that the monkeys were good and crazy after smoking their WEIGHT in Marijuana each day, for 3 months.”
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I’m gonna go check that out right now! *runs and grabs camera and money, heads for train station*
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I have a picture for you!
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o56/cynthiavasconcellos/800px-Touched_by_His_Noodly_Appenda.jpg
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Octo’s ink is pumpin the grind in dis fiendin fish
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That is one freaky octopus - thanks for the pictures!
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freaky!
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this octupus is a strange one and it will go perfectly on a fair people will pay a lot of money if u bring that octupus to the united states and have it in the local zoo
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That’s crazy. Octopi don’t have tentacles though. They have legs.
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