# North Pacific giant octopus (*Enteroctopus dofleini*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/north-pacific-giant-octopus  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is a species in the family Enteroctopodidae, order Octopoda. It has been recorded in 7 countries, most often in United States, Canada and Japan. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Recorded in | 7 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Mollusca
- class: Cephalopoda
- order: Octopoda
- family: Enteroctopodidae
- genus: Enteroctopus
- species: *Enteroctopus dofleini* (Wülker, 1910)

Synonyms: *Octopus apollyon*, *Octopus dofleini*, *Octopus gilbertianus*, *Octopus punctatus*, *Paroctopus asper*, *Paroctopus dofleini*, *Polypus apollyon*, *Polypus dofleini*, *Polypus gilbertianus*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

United States (2012), Canada (1208), Japan (48), South Korea (5), South Africa (4), Russia (3), French Southern Territories (3)

## Common questions

### Where does the North Pacific giant octopus live?

The North Pacific giant octopus has openly licensed sighting records from 7 countries on GBIF. The most records come from United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and South Africa. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### Is the North Pacific giant octopus endangered?

The North Pacific giant octopus is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

### What kind of animal is the North Pacific giant octopus?

The North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) belongs to the family Enteroctopodidae in the order Octopoda.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: North Pacific giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/north-pacific-giant-octopus