Giant Pacific Octopus

True to its name, the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is the largest of all octopus species, and, along with other cephalopods (a group of mollusks that contain the octopuses, squid and cuttlefish), it is considered one of the most intelligent of all invertebrates. The body, or ‘mantle’, is generally reddish-brown, and it is usually darker in the male than in the female. During mating, white spots also become visible on the male’s mantle. When disturbed or threatened, special pigment cells in the skin, called chromatophores, may become activated, and cause the mantle to change color to white or red.