American family catch incredibly rare six-tentacled octopus : Then bash it to death and serve it up with lemon
A US citizen told how he caught and ate an octopus on holiday - only to discover it was the second rare six-legged specimen ever found.
Mechanical engineer Labros Hydras, 49, pulled the creature - dubbed a ‘hexapus’ - from the sea as he went snorkelling in Greece.
He and his son followed local tradition by smashing it against a rock to kill it and then took it to a nearby taverna to cook.
The chef refused to cook it for him because it was so rare and told Labros he should have let the octopus live.
But the father-of-two, who was born in Greece and now lives in Washington D.C., fried it for his supper anyway and served it up with a slice of tomato and lemon.
After finishing it off he decided to check out what the chef had said - and felt sick when he realised what he had done.
No-one had ever heard of a six-legged hexapus until five years ago when one nicknamed Henry was found near North Wales, Britain.
That first-ever recorded discovery was taken to Blackpool Sea Life Centre, England.
Labros, 49, is now trying to find out more about the marine mutant.
He is also helping sealife experts in Greece with what he can remember of the catch on Papa Nero beach on Pelion peninsula.
Labros, who was snorkelling with daughter Areti, ten, and son Arion, six, said: 'It tasted just like a normal octopus but now I feel really bad.
'When we caught it, there was nothing to suggest it was any different or had been damaged.
'I thought it had just been born with six tentacles.
'We go to Greece every year and when we catch an octopus we do the same thing so we just did not think about it.'
He added: 'I wanted to find out more, but there was no internet where we were.
'I then called my friend who is a biologist and he told me it was true and I was horrified.
'Now I want to pursue the scientific angle to make scientists aware of the existence of the wild hexapus.
'It is the least that I can do given my ignorance and guilt that I feel for killing such a rare animal.'
Labros has shown his evidence to specialists at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Greece.
Biologists say the six-legged hexapus is the result of a natal abnormality as opposed to a new species.
Mechanical engineer Labros Hydras, 49, pulled the creature - dubbed a ‘hexapus’ - from the sea as he went snorkelling in Greece.
He and his son followed local tradition by smashing it against a rock to kill it and then took it to a nearby taverna to cook.
The chef refused to cook it for him because it was so rare and told Labros he should have let the octopus live.
But the father-of-two, who was born in Greece and now lives in Washington D.C., fried it for his supper anyway and served it up with a slice of tomato and lemon.
After finishing it off he decided to check out what the chef had said - and felt sick when he realised what he had done.
No-one had ever heard of a six-legged hexapus until five years ago when one nicknamed Henry was found near North Wales, Britain.
That first-ever recorded discovery was taken to Blackpool Sea Life Centre, England.
Labros, 49, is now trying to find out more about the marine mutant.
He is also helping sealife experts in Greece with what he can remember of the catch on Papa Nero beach on Pelion peninsula.
Labros, who was snorkelling with daughter Areti, ten, and son Arion, six, said: 'It tasted just like a normal octopus but now I feel really bad.
'When we caught it, there was nothing to suggest it was any different or had been damaged.
'I thought it had just been born with six tentacles.
'We go to Greece every year and when we catch an octopus we do the same thing so we just did not think about it.'
He added: 'I wanted to find out more, but there was no internet where we were.
'I then called my friend who is a biologist and he told me it was true and I was horrified.
'Now I want to pursue the scientific angle to make scientists aware of the existence of the wild hexapus.
'It is the least that I can do given my ignorance and guilt that I feel for killing such a rare animal.'
Labros has shown his evidence to specialists at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Greece.
Biologists say the six-legged hexapus is the result of a natal abnormality as opposed to a new species.
Source : DailyMail
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