Gigantic Octopus

Information about Gigantic Octopus

Pen and wash drawing by malacologist Pierre DÃ©nys de Montfort, 1801, from the descriptions of French sailors reportedly attacked by such a creature off the coast of Angola

Carcass that washed ashore in St. Augustine in 1896

DÃ©nys de Montfort's "Poulpe Colossal" attacks a merchant ship.

Imaginary view of a gigantic octopus seizing a ship.

An unknown species of gigantic octopus has been hypothesised as a source of reports of sea monsters such as the lusca and the kraken as well as the ultimate source of some of the carcasses of unidentified origin known as globsters like the St. Augustine carcass. The species that the St. Augustine carcass supposedly represented has been assigned the binomial names "Octopus giganteus" (Latin: giant octopus)^[1] and "Otoctopus giganteus" (Greek prefix: oton = ear; giant-eared octopus),^[2] although these are not valid under the rules of the ICZN.

They are not to be confused with the known giant octopus, which is a member of the scientifically defined genus, Enteroctopus, and grows to about thirty feet in arm spread. The colossal octopus is assumed to be much larger. It is possible that some deep water cirrate octopodes such as Haliphron atlanticus reach sizes such that they might be considered gigantic.

History

In 1802, however, the French malacologist Pierre Denys de Montfort in Histoire Naturelle GÃ©nÃ©rale et ParticuliÃ¨re des Mollusques, an encyclopedic description of mollusks, recognized the existence of two kinds of giant octopus. One being the kraken octopus, which Denys de Montfort believed had been described not only by Norwegian sailors and American whalers, but also by ancient writers such as Pliny the Elder. The second one being the much larger colossal octopus (the one actually depicted by the image) which reportedly attacked a sailing vessel from Saint-Malo off the coast of Angola.

A gigantic octopus has been proposed as an identity for the large carcass, known as the St. Augustine Monster, that washed up in St Augustine, Florida in 1896. However, samples of this specimen subjected to electron microscopy and biochemical analysis were found to be "masses of virtually pure collagen" and not to have the "biochemical characteristics of invertebrate collagen, nor the collagen fiber arrangement of octopus mantle". The results suggest the samples are "large pieces of vertebrate skin ... from a huge homeotherm".^[3]

Regional names for colossal octopus

"Giant Scuttle" - Bahamas
"Lusca" - Caribbean
"Rogu-tomu"? - Tahiti

References

1. ^ Verrill, A.E. 1897. Additional information concerning the giant Cephalopod of Florida. American Journal of Science 4th series 3: 162-163.
2. ^ Raynal, M. 1987. Le poulpe colossal des CaraÃ¯bes. Le Clin d'Œil, Nice, 16: 21-25. (French)
3. ^ Pierce, S., G. Smith, T. Maugel & E. Clark 1995. On the Giant Octopus (Octopus giganteus) and the Bermuda Blob: Homage to A. E. Verrill. Biol. Bull. 188: 219-230.

Heuvelmans, B. The Kraken and the Colossal Octopus (2003) Kegan Paul. London.

lusca is a name given to a sea monster reported from the Caribbean. It has been suggested by cryptozoologists that the lusca is a gigantic octopus, far larger than the known giant octopi of the genus Enteroctopus.
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Kraken ( kra’ ken, IPA: /ˈkrɑːkɛn/) are legendary sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelled off the coasts of Norway and Iceland.
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globster, or blob, is an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water. It is distinguished from a normal beached carcass by being hard to identify, at least by initial untrained observers, and by creating controversy as to its
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St. Augustine Monster is the name given to a large unidentified carcass, originally postulated to be the remains of a gigantic octopus, that washed ashore on the United States coast near St. Augustine, Florida, in 1896.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Latin}}}
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Greek}}}
Writing system: Greek alphabet
Official status
Official language of: Greece
Cyprus
European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
European Union
Italy
Turkey
Regulated by:
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A prefix is the initial portion of some object or term (typically in text or speech) with a distinct and he base semantics for a word.

Numerical prefix, used for magnitudes of SI units, like 'kilo' and 'milli' in 'kilometre' and 'milligram'. See also SI prefix.

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The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a set of rules in zoology that have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in the naming of all animals according to taxonomic judgment.
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Enteroctopus
Rochebrune & Mabille, 1889

Species

See text.

Enteroctopus is an octopus genus, many of whose members are sometimes known as giant octopuses. However, one member of this genus is extremely small in size.
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Cirrina
Grimpe, 1916 sensu Felley et al., 2001

Families
Opisthoteuthidae
Cirroteuthidae
Stauroteuthidae
Synonyms

Cirrata
Grimpe, 1916
Cirroctopoda
Young, 1989

Cirrina
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Alloposidae
Verrill, 1881

Genus: Haliphron
Steenstrup, 1861

Species: H.
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Mollusca
Linnaeus, 1758

Classes

Caudofoveata
Aplacophora
Polyplacophora
Monoplacophora
Bivalvia
Scaphopoda
Gastropoda
Cephalopoda
† Rostroconchia
† Helcionelloida
† ?Bellerophontida
The molluscs
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Pierre DÃ©nys de Montfort (1766 – 1820) was a French naturalist, remembered today for his pioneering inquiries into the existence of the giant squid Architeuthis, which was thought to be an old wives' tale, and for which he was long dismissed.
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Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, (AD 23 – August 24, AD 79), better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author, naturalist or natural philosopher and naval and military commander of some importance who wrote Naturalis Historia.
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Commune of
Saint-Malo

View of the walled city

Location
Longitude 02Â° 00' 27" W
Latitude 48Â° 38' 53" N

Administration
Country France
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Motto
"Virtus Unita Fortior" (Latin)
"Unity Provides Strength"
Anthem
Angola Avante! (Portuguese)
Forward Angola!
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St. Augustine, Florida
Nickname: Ancient City, Continental United States' Oldest City
Location in St. Johns County and the state of Florida
Coordinates:
Country United States
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An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses electrons as a way to illuminate and create an image of a specimen. It has much higher magnification and resolving power than a light microscope, with magnifications up to about two million times, compared to about two
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Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms.^[1] The word "biochemistry" comes from the Greek word βιοχημεία biochēmeia, which means "the chemistry of life.
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Warm-blooded animals maintain thermal homeostasis; that is, they keep their body temperature at a constant level. This involves the ability to cool down or produce more body heat. Warm-blooded animals mainly control their body temperature by regulating their metabolic rates (e.g.
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Motto
"Forward, Upward, Onward Together"
Anthem
"March On, Bahamaland"
Royal anthem
"God Save the Queen"
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Caribbean (Dutch: Cariben or CaraÃ¯ben, or more commonly Antillen; French: CaraÃ¯be or more commonly Antilles; Spanish: Caribe
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Tahiti<nowiki />

Tahiti is famous for its black beaches

Geography
<nowiki/>
Location Pacific Ocean <nowiki />
Archipelago Society Islands<nowiki /> <nowiki /> <nowiki />

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Scandinavian folklore is the folklore of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Swedish speaking parts of Finland.

In Scandinavia the term 'folklore' is not often used in academic circles, instead terms such as Folketro
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