Giant Pacific Octopus

The giant Pacific octopus, also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod and the largest octopus species on Earth, found from Baja California north along the West Coast of the United States and British Columbia, across the northern Pacific to the Russian Far East, and south to the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan and the waters around Korea and Japan. It ranges from the intertidal zone down to about 2,000 metres and is best adapted to cold, oxygen- and nutrient-rich water. Beyond its ecological role in deep sea ecosystems, it is widely kept in aquariums and research facilities and is important to cognitive research and the fishing industry.