A rare nine-legged octopus has been discovered.

Octopus

Octopus

The unusual creature was caught off the coast of Japan earlier this month and the extra leg was only noticed by the fisherman as he was boiling it.

Takuzo Abe, a researcher at the Minamisanriku Nature Centre, explained that octopuses have the ability to regenerate limbs that have been severed and it is possible that the ninth leg was added when healing a wound to the leg it has grown out of.

Abe added: "(This octopus) is a phenomenon demonstrating the diversity of nature.

"I want to leave this for posterity and use it to get more people to know about the abundant nature of Shizugawa Bay.

"I hope it becomes an opportunity for people to learn about the abundant mysteries of the ocean."