Studio portrait of big, brainy octopus

True to its name, the North Pacific giant octopus is the largest of all octopus species.

The animals, which stand head and multiple shoulders above other invertebrates in terms of intelligence, grow to 45 kilograms and typically measure around 4 metres from arm tip to tip. Yet they only live for a maximum of five years.

This remarkable image comes from Sea, a collection of photographs that is published this month by Abrams. In it the fantastic and unusual marine creatures have been treated as still life objects by American photographer Mark Laita — via Short Sharp Science