Giant Pacific octopus
Enteroctopus dofleini (Wülker, 1910)
LCLeast Concernoctopus and squid
The giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is a mollusc in the octopus subgroup, placed in the class Cephalopoda and the family Enteroctopodidae. It belongs to the phylum Mollusca and the genus Enteroctopus, and its scientific name carries the authority (Wülker, 1910).
Quick facts about the giant Pacific octopus
The IUCN Red List assesses the giant Pacific octopus globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastal, marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the giant Pacific octopus
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the giant Pacific octopus live?
Not recorded
What is the giant Pacific octopus?
The giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus and Enteroctopodidae family.
Its spatial distribution encompasses much of the coastal North Pacific, from the Mexican state of Baja California, north along the United States' West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands), and British Columbia, Canada; across the northern Pacific to the Russian Far East (Kamchatka, Sea of Okhotsk), south to the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan, Japan's Pacific east coast, and around the Korean Peninsula. It can be found from the intertidal zone down to 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and is best-adapted to colder, oxygen- and nutrient-rich waters. It is the largest octopus species on earth and can often be found in aquariums and research facilities in addition to the ocean. E. dofleini play an important role in maintaining the health and biodiversity of deep sea ecosystems, cognitive research, and the fishing industry.
From the Wikipedia article “Giant Pacific octopus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giant_Pacific_octopus&oldid=1381225306), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the giant Pacific octopus endangered?
The giant Pacific octopus is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the giant Pacific octopus classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumMollusca
- classCephalopoda
- familyEnteroctopodidae
- genusEnteroctopus
- SpeciesEnteroctopus dofleini (Wülker, 1910)
Synonyms Enteroctopus dofleini apollyon, Enteroctopus dofleini dofleini, Enteroctopus dofleini martini, Octopus apollyon, Octopus dofleini, Octopus dofleini apollyon, Octopus dofleini dofleini, Octopus dofleini martini, Octopus gilbertianus, Octopus punctatus, Paroctopus asper, Paroctopus dofleini, Polypus apollyon, Polypus dofleini, Polypus gilbertianus
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- Giant North Pacific octopusEnglish
- Giant octopusEnglish
- Giant octopusEnglish
- GPOEnglish
- North Pacific giant octopusEnglish
- North Pacific giant octopusEnglish
- North Pacific giant octopusEnglish
- North Pacific giant octopusEnglish
- Pacific giant octopusEnglish
- Pacific giant octopusEnglish
- أخطبوط المحيط الهادئ العملاقArabic
- pulpu xiganteAsturian
- Pop gegant de CalifòrniaCatalan
- Pop gegant del Pacífic NordCatalan
- Chobotnice velkáCzech
- Chobotnice obrovskáCzech
- KæmpestillehavsblæksprutteDanish
- Pazifische RiesenkrakeGerman
- Pazifischer RiesenkrakeGerman
- Γιγάντιο χταπόδι του ΕιρηνικούGreek
- Pulpo gigante del PacíficoSpanish
- Dofleini kaheksajalgEstonian
- JättiläistursasFinnish
- Pieuvre géante du PacifiqueFrench
- תמנון פסיפי ענקHebrew
- óriáspolipHungarian
- Gurita raksasaIndonesian
- Polpo gigante del PacificoItalian
- ミズダコJapanese
- 문어Korean
- ReuzenkraakDutch
- Polvo-gigante-do-PacíficoPortuguese
- Polvo Gigante do Pacífico NortePortuguese
- Осьминог ДофлейнаRussian
- Гигантский осьминогRussian
- Осьминог Дофлейна (гигантский северотихоокеанский)Russian
- osmonoh gigantickýSlovak
- orjaška tihomorska hobotnicaSlovenian
- 北太平洋巨人章魚Chinese
- 北太平洋巨型章魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the giant Pacific octopus
Other species in the same genus Enteroctopus.
Red octopus
Enteroctopus megalocyathus
Cape giant octopus
Enteroctopus magnificus
Yellow giant octopus
Enteroctopus zealandicus
North Pacific bigeye octopus
Enteroctopus californicus
Chestnut octopus
Enteroctopus conispadiceus
CompareGiant Pacific octopus vs Red octopusGiant Pacific octopus vs Cape giant octopusGiant Pacific octopus vs Yellow giant octopusGiant Pacific octopus vs North Pacific bigeye octopus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the giant Pacific octopus?
The giant Pacific octopus is a mollusc in the octopus subgroup. It is classified in the class Cephalopoda and the family Enteroctopodidae.
What is the scientific name of the giant Pacific octopus?
Its scientific name is Enteroctopus dofleini, placing it in the genus Enteroctopus.
Who named Enteroctopus dofleini?
The scientific name Enteroctopus dofleini carries the authority (Wülker, 1910).
Is the giant Pacific octopus endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the giant Pacific octopus have?
It is also called the Giant octopus, Pacific giant octopus, North Pacific giant octopus and Giant North Pacific octopus.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-pacific-octopus
“Giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-pacific-octopus.
@misc{giant_pacific_octopus_2026,
title = {Giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/giant-pacific-octopus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}