Scottish beachgoers have been left dumbfounded by a rare ‘seven-legged’ octopus that washed up on a local beach.
The creature, also known as septopus, was found in fragments along the Ythan estuary near Forvie National Nature Reserve, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire.
Due to its impressive size – its arms alone reach about 20 inches – researchers think the deep sea creature was a female.
Dr Lauren Smith, a marine biologist at research organisation Saltwater Life, called it ‘an extraordinary find’ – but how it got there is ‘a bit of a mystery’.
It’s possible the unfortunate specimen was attacked by hungry whales before its remains washed along the shore.
‘It may have been trawl-caught and thrown back, or predated on by a whale,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘Or somehow it found its way into the shallow waters and become disoriented then predated on.
‘Specimens are being sent various labs and museums. It’s very rare to get this species to work with so everyone is exited.’
Dr Smith found out about the remains when a friend sent her photos that were circulating online following the sighting by beachgoers on November 30.
The final ‘missing piece’ of the creature to be found was the beak and the three arms, which washed onto shore last Thursday (December 4).
‘All parts and photographs will be from the same individual,’ Dr Smith said.
Photos and measurements taken at the scene quickly ruled out any of Scotland’s native coastal octopus species.
It had been initially thought the remains might be of a giant squid (Architeuthis dux) – a species with a few historic records in Aberdeenshire, including Newburgh in 1998.
However, the absence of the characteristic ‘toothed’ suckers seen in the giant squid suggested otherwise.
Instead, it has been confirmed as Haliphron atlanticus, a species formally identified in the 19th century, also known as blob octopus or septopus.
This species is found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide, from the Azores west of Portugal, Puget Sound at Washington State and Chatham Rise, New Zealand.
Septopus is typically found in waters deeper than 1,600 feet (500 metres) – known as ‘the twilight zone’ due to lack of sunlight that penetrates so far down.
Males of the species are quite small, typically only reaching 8 inches (21 cm) long, but females are comparatively enormous, reaching 13 feet (4 metres).
Despite their name, the seven-arm octopus actually has eight arms like other octopuses – but there is a reason why it’s known as such.
As is typical of octopuses, male Haliphron atlanticus individuals have a special modified arm (a ‘hectocotylus’) for transferring sperm during mating.
But the species tends to keep this arm tucked into a sac beneath their right eye, giving the appearance of only seven arms.
‘Likely the first specimen was just observed to have seven arms and the name stuck,’ Dr Smith told the Daily Mail.
Nevertheless, this is a ‘remarkable and rarely documented’ species, which has even fewer recorded appearances in northeast Scotland than the giant squid.
For now, the remains of the deep-water giant gelatinous octopus are in Dr Smith’s freezer, where they will stay until ‘the not too distant future’, she said.
They will be studied and preserved at Aberdeen University, TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network, National Museum Scotland and Natural History Museum London.
‘To have a deep-water species like Haliphron atlanticus appear here is incredibly rare and offers a valuable opportunity for further study,’ Dr Smith added.
‘The recovered remains have been frozen down for further study, with some potentially being preserved as museum specimens.’
Dr Steve O’Shea, a marine biologist, environmentalist and world expert on cephalopod (octopus and squid), helped verify the species.
The identification has been agreed upon by researchers in California, New Zealand and Natural History Museum London.
