WATCH: Footage of rare ‘seven-armed’ octopus caught by scientists

The marine animal octopus is perhaps best known  for the eight functioning tentacles attached to its body.

But one elusive species, the seven-armed octopus Haliphron atlanticus, was finally caught on tape by marine biologists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing, California, USA.

As seen in a clip uploaded on YouTube recently, the mysterious cephalopod—which is rarely documented alive by scientists—is snacking on a jellyfish.

“It looked as though Haliphron had not only made a meal of the jelly, but was hanging onto it, perhaps for defense or for help in catching prey,” the aquarium’s YouTube description said.

Furthermore, the aquarium also revealed that it’s only the third time in 27 years that the ambiguous creature was sighted.

“This species is rarely seen alive, and most  of what is known about it came from specimens caught in trawl nets,” the group said.

The “septipus” is one of the two largest-known species of octopus,  and could grow to as long as 12 feet. In reality, the animal actually has eight arms, but one is coiled in a sac beneath the right eye and is easily overlooked by the naked eye.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra

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