Source: SFGate
“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.” (12/11/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/seven-armed-octopus-california-monterey-21237565.php