Which Is the Largest Octopus in the World?

The giant Pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini, lives in the cold coastal waters of the North Pacific, from California to Japan. Adults usually weigh about 15 kilograms, and the largest reliably recorded individual weighed around 71 kilograms. Its arm span can reach roughly 4 metres, and each of its eight arms carries up to about 280 suckers. It lives only three to five years, and females lay tens of thousands of eggs, guarding them for about six months before dying. The deep-sea seven-arm octopus may rival it in weight, but far fewer have been measured.