Giant octopus

The Giant octopus is Enteroctopus, and one of its species is the largest octopus. There are four species: the North Pacific Giant Octopus (E. dofleini), the Southern Giant Octopus (Enteroctopus magnificus), E. megalocyathus, and E. zealandicus.

Giant octopuses
A North Pacific Giant Octopus at a depth of 65 metres
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Octopoda
Family:	Octopodidae
Subfamily:	Octopodinae
Genus:	Enteroctopus Rochebrune & Mabille, 1889
Were Giant Octopi live, E. dofleini in blue, E. megalocyathus in red, E. magnificus in yellow, and E. zealandicus in purple.

Overview

The only member of this genus that deserves the common name "Giant octopus" is Enteroctopus dofleini. This holds the record of being the world's largest octopus: direct measurements were made of a live 71 kg (156.5 lb) individual.^[1] This octopus had a total length near to 4 m (13 ft).

The remaining members of the genus are much smaller. E. megalocyathus has an average weight of 4 kg and a total length of 1 m.^[2][3] E. magnificus has a total length of around 1.5 m.^[4]

References

1. Cosgrove J.A. 1987. Aspects of the natural history of Octopus dofleini, the Giant Pacific Octopus. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Biology, University of Victoria (Canada).
2. Perez M.C. et al. 2006. Feeding and growth in captivity of the octopus Enteroctopus megalocyathus Gould, 1852. Aquaculture Research 37: 550–555.
3. Gleadall I.G. and M.A. Salcedo-Vargas 2004. Catalogue of the Cephalopoda specimens in the Zoology Department of Tokyo University Museum. Interdisciplinary Information Sciences 10: 113–142.
4. Norman M. 2003. Cephalopods: a world guide. ConchBooks: Heckenhaim, Germany. pp. 213–216