Scientists on California’s Central Coast recently spotted a giant, evasive seven-arm octopus while on a research expedition in Monterey Bay.The rare creature, called Haliphron atlanticus, was seen by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s biodiversity and biooptics team on Nov. 6, the institute confirmed to SFGATE via email. Prior to this sighting, scientists with MBARI had only seen the octopus four times in the past 35 years.Haliphron atlanticus was last seen by MBARI scientists in 2017, when they discovered the octopus is partial to a diet of jellyfish and gelatinous plankton. Last month, the team again witnessed the elusive animal. Led by senior scientist Steven Haddock, the MBARI team was studying marine life in the ocean’s midwater — a vast range between the water’s surface and the seafloor — when they came across Haliphron atlanticus at a depth of about 2,300 feet. “Each observation has provided important insight into the natural history of this rarely seen deep-sea octopus,” MBARI’s communications team said in the email. Haliphron atlanticus lives in tropical and temperate water around the world, and can reach a whopping length of 13.1 feet, according to MBARI. Females can weigh up to 165 pounds, though males are typically much smaller and tend to reach only about 8 inches in length. The octopus spotted last month was seen eating a helmet jelly, a red-colored, bioluminescent jellyfish that lives primarily in the ocean’s twilight zone. Though jellyfish provide limited nutritional benefits, they’re an abundant source of food for large sea creatures, according to MBARI. After eating the tissues in a jellyfish’s bell, Haliphron atlanticus will often use the jelly’s tentacles for defense “as a bonus to the meal,” MBARI wrote on its website.Haliphron atlanticus does, technically, have eight arms like other octopi. However, one of these is a specialized arm used to transfer sperm while mating. This arm is kept tucked into a sac beneath the animal’s right eye, making it seem like it has only seven arms. Haddock’s team used a remotely operated video to spot and film the Haliphron atlanticus last month. The first known observations of the animal were also recorded using this equipment, according to MBARI. See more coverage of top Central Coast stories | Download our app / Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

, Calif. —

Scientists on California’s Central Coast recently spotted a giant, evasive seven-arm octopus while on a research expedition in Monterey Bay.

The rare creature, called Haliphron atlanticus, was seen by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s biodiversity and biooptics team on Nov. 6, the institute confirmed to SFGATE via email. Prior to this sighting, scientists with MBARI had only seen the octopus four times in the past 35 years.

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Haliphron atlanticus was last seen by MBARI scientists in 2017, when they discovered the octopus is partial to a diet of jellyfish and gelatinous plankton. Last month, the team again witnessed the elusive animal. Led by senior scientist Steven Haddock, the MBARI team was studying marine life in the ocean’s midwater — a vast range between the water’s surface and the seafloor — when they came across Haliphron atlanticus at a depth of about 2,300 feet.

“Each observation has provided important insight into the natural history of this rarely seen deep-sea octopus,” MBARI’s communications team said in the email.

Haliphron atlanticus lives in tropical and temperate water around the world, and can reach a whopping length of 13.1 feet, according to MBARI. Females can weigh up to 165 pounds, though males are typically much smaller and tend to reach only about 8 inches in length.

The octopus spotted last month was seen eating a helmet jelly, a red-colored, bioluminescent jellyfish that lives primarily in the ocean’s twilight zone. Though jellyfish provide limited nutritional benefits, they’re an abundant source of food for large sea creatures, according to MBARI. After eating the tissues in a jellyfish’s bell, Haliphron atlanticus will often use the jelly’s tentacles for defense “as a bonus to the meal,” MBARI wrote on its website.

Haliphron atlanticus does, technically, have eight arms like other octopi. However, one of these is a specialized arm used to transfer sperm while mating. This arm is kept tucked into a sac beneath the animal’s right eye, making it seem like it has only seven arms.

Haddock’s team used a remotely operated video to spot and film the Haliphron atlanticus last month. The first known observations of the animal were also recorded using this equipment, according to MBARI.

See more coverage of top Central Coast stories | Download our app / Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel