What is the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and where can it be found?
The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus was an internet hoax created in 1998 by Lyle Zapato. This fictitious endangered species of cephalopod was given the Latin name “Octopus paxarbolis” (which means, roughly, “Pacific tree octopus”). It was purported to be able to live both on land and in water, and was said to live in the Olympic National Forest and nearby rivers, spawning in water where eggs are laid. Its major predator was said to be the Sasquatch. ____ The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus website is among a number of sites commonly used in Internet literacy classes in schools, although it was not created for that purpose. Despite the falsehoods shown on the site, such as its support by “GreenPeas.org,” the mentioning of other hoax species such as the Rock Nest Monster, the mountain walrus, and its affiliation with People for the Ethical Treatment of Pumpkins (P.E.T.PU.) (cleverly mixed with links to pages about real species and organizations), 24 of 25 students involved in one well-publ
