Octopus with most arms

- Who
- A specimen of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)
- What
- 96 total number
- Where
- Japan (Matoya Bay)
- When
- December 1998
As the name suggests, an octopus usually has eight arms/limbs (often mistakenly referred to as "tentacles"), but occasional freak specimens with fewer or more than eight have been documented. The octopus with the greatest known number of arms is an extraordinary specimen of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that was captured alive in Matoya Bay, Japan, during December 1998. Each of its eight normal arms had branched to produce a profusion of additional ones, yielding an amazing 96 limbs in total.
It survived for five months in captivity, and after its death its body was preserved, and is now permanently exhibited at the Shima Marineland Aquarium, in Shima, Japan.