As the name suggests, an octopus usually has eight tentacles, but occasional freak specimens with fewer or more than eight have been documented. The octopus with the greatest known number of tentacles is an extraordinary specimen of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that was captured alive in Matoya Bay, Japan, during December 1998. Each of its eight normal tentacles had branched to produce a profusion of additional ones, yielding an amazing 96 tentacles in total. It survived for five months in captivity, and after its death its body was preserved, and is now permanently exhibited at the Shima Marineland Aquarium, in Shima, Japan.