An outdoorsman came across an unusual red sea creature washed up on an island in Puget Sound, Washington, on the morning of August 29 during low tide.
He took some photos of the bizarre creature and sent it to a local wildlife organization who then passed it on to larine life centers. According to them, the man found is likely the seven-armed octopus formally known as Haliphron atlanticus.
Like the common octopus, the scarlet cephalopod has full eight arms but hides away one limb except during mating. These creatures are considered to be the largest species of octopus that can weigh up to 165lb.
Seven-Armed Octopus Found in Washington
Writer Ron Newberry told the Whidbey News-Times that at first, he was not sure if the bizarre red creature was an octopus. He said that it is common to spot jellyfish washed up on shore, and he did not want to touch it. But just looking at it, the creature was obviously dead.
He took many photos of the unknown sea creature that is estimated to be about three-and-a-half feet long and sent it to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust for them to identify what sea creature it was.
Experts wondered what the creature could be, including an East Pacific red octopus or a vampire squid that usually lives in the depths of the ocean at about 2,000 to 3,000 feet.
Chief engineer, Bob Kiel of Seattle Aquarium told the Trust that the creature could be a dumbo octopus. A creature that also lives in the depths of the ocean that can grow as big as five feet long.
The photos were then shared with other marine life institutions, such as the Smithsonian, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Upon examining the photos, they agreed that the mystery rd sea creature is the seven-armed octopus or the Haliphron atlanticus. As its name suggests, this octopus resides in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean, an unusual find that is far from the north.
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One Hidden Limb
Marine experts believe that climate change has affected the habitats of marine life. According to marine biologist Elaina Jorgensen of NOAA, she has also seen photos of Haliphron washed up off the British Columbia coast and that it is possible that this animal was blown to Washington's Puget Sound during a storm last week and then eventually died due to the salinity of the waters.
Though it looks like the Haliphron only has seven limbs, the octopus hides its one limb, called a hectocotylus, inside a sac near its eye and only uses it during mating. It is often not seen due to the thick skin of the octopus, that is why experts are reluctant to call it as the 'seven-armed octopus.'
Haliphron is considered one of the world's most enormous octopus, which could grow up to 11 feet and weigh 165 pounds. According to the Journal of Marine Species, some Haliphrons can reach up to 13 feet long, although this has not been verified since these creatures live in the depths of the sea.
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