An animal-mad teenager has amazed marine experts by discovering a live octopus on a British beach.
Chris Barnett, 17, from North Shields, North Tyneside, found the half-metre long curled octopus while out rockpooling.
Aquarist Zahra d'Aronville, of the Blue Reef aquarium, in Tynemouth, said: "Chris is a real star and he's the best rockpooler I've ever come across. He's always discovering things.
"We sent him down to the beach to collect some seaweed for our native displays and he came running back with this octopus in his bucket. We couldn't believe our eyes."
Staff have now placed the octopus in a display tank.
Zahra believes the octopus could have been brought ashore by a combination of warm weather and high tides.
"It's very unusual to find a live octopus in a rockpool," she said.
The curled octopus gets its name from its slender, tapering arms, which curl at the end
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