Seven-arm octopus

Not to be confused with Septopus from Finding Dory.

Seven-arm octopus
Ventral view of young female (70 mm ML)
Lateral view of young male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Alloposidae
Verrill, 1881
Genus: Haliphron
Steenstrup, 1861
Species:
H. atlanticus
Binomial name
Haliphron atlanticus
Synonyms
  • Alloposus mollis
    Verrill, 1880
  • ?Octopus alberti
    Joubin, 1895
  • Alloposus pacificus
    Ijima & Ikeda, 1902
  • Heptopus danai
    Joubin, 1929
  • Alloposus hardyi
    Robson, 1930
  • ?Alloposina albatrossi
    Robson, 1932

The seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus), also known as the blob octopus or sometimes called septopus, is one of the two largest known species of octopus; the largest specimen ever discovered had an estimated total length of 3.5 m (11 ft) and mass of 75 kg (165 lb).[3][4] The only other similarly large extant species is the giant Pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini.

The genera Alloposina Grimpe, 1922, Alloposus Verrill, 1880 and Heptopus Joubin, 1929 are junior synonyms of Haliphron, a monotypic genus in the monotypic family Alloposidae, part of the superfamily Argonautoidea in the suborder Incirrata of the order Octopoda.[2]

  1. ^ Allcock, L. (2014). "Haliphron atlanticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T163207A983527. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T163207A983527.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Julian Finn (2017). "Haliphron Steenstrup, 1859". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  3. ^ O'Shea, S. (2002). "Haliphron atlanticus — a giant gelatinous octopus" (PDF). Biodiversity Update. 5: 1.
  4. ^ O'Shea, S. (2004). "The giant octopus Haliphron atlanticus (Mollusca : Octopoda) in New Zealand waters". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 31 (1): 7–13. doi:10.1080/03014223.2004.9518353. S2CID 84954869.