An octopus with nine legs was discovered in Shizugawa Bay in the Japanese Miyagi prefecture. The unordinary marine inhabitant has surprised even the local researchers,
The 9-legged octopus becomes a phenomenon because of its ability to regenerate all eight legs. That means the octopus is able not only to fully restore its body but to add one leg as well, AsiaOne reports.
The nine-legged octopus’s extra limb branches off from the middle of the third leg on the left side.
The nine-legged creature was discovered by the local farmer who runs the wakame seaweed in the seaside town Minami-Sanriku. On Nov 13, Kazuya Sato, 40, caught four octopus in a trap and brought them home, where his mother noticed that one had nine legs as she was putting them in a pot to boil.
The unusual octopus became a surprise for the local researchers from the Shizugawa Nature Center in Minami-Sanriku. Takuzo Abe, the leading specialist, says the octopus can regenerate a leg even if it is cut off. If a leg is damaged, a new one could regrow from the damaged fragment.
The Nature Center soaked the octopus in alcohol to preserve it as a specimen and plans to put it on public display. “I want to leave this for posterity and use it to get more people to know about the abundant nature of Shizugawa Bay,” Abe said.
According to the scientific data on the marine environment, the 9-legged octopus is not the record, in fact. In 1998, an octopus with 96 legs was caught in Matoya Bay in Mie Prefecture. The specimen has been kept at the Shima Marineland Aquarium in the prefecture.
