A Falmouth fishing crew made a surprise discovery earlier this week when they hauled up a rare Mediterranean octopus in one of their crab pots.

The octopus, which measures close to a metre in length, was discovered in a pot two-and-a-half miles south east of Falmouth Harbour by fisherman Ned Bailey.

Ned brought it back to port on his boat before contacting staff at the Blue Reef Aquarium where the unusual catch is now recovering.

“Octopus have a reputation as one of the marine world’s most intelligent inhabitants,” explained Blue Reef's Matt Slater.

“They are also incredibly manoeuvrable and - because they have no skeleton - can fit their bodies through the tiniest of gaps.

“It must have been attracted by the presence of crabs in the pot and squeezed inside to investigate,” he added.

As its name suggests the Mediterranean, or common, octopus is normally found in warmer southern waters although individuals do occasionally appear around the south west coast in the summer months.

It’s thought that their numbers are on the increase, possibly due to the effects of gradually rising sea temperatures.

The octopus, which has been nicknamed Inka by staff at the Blue Reef Aquarium, is settling in well to its new home and has already begun to feed.

Octopus have a highly evolved nervous system. Their eyes are more developed than humans and they have the largest and most advanced brains of any invertebrate.

Despite the fact that they belong to the same family as slugs and snails, octopus can perform highly complex tasks.

As well as unscrewing jars, they can open boxes, distinguish between different shapes and colours and complete mazes.

According to Israeli scientists some of the octopus’s intelligence is actually contained within its tentacles.

Each of the octopus’ eight arms is controlled by an elaborate nervous system consisting of 50 million neurons.