American family catch rare six-tentacled octopus then bash it to death and serve it up with a slice of lemon before discovering it is only the second ever seen. Wow! Now that's a life time opportunity gone.

After catching an octopus, holidaymaker Labros Hydras followed local tradition by killing it and taking it to a taverna to be served for his supper.

That is when he discovered this was no ordinary specimen – it was a  ‘hexapus’ with only six legs instead of the usual eight.

The creature found during a snorkelling trip in Greece is believed to be only the second recorded worldwide.

Its rarity was explained to Mr Hydras by the chef he approached, who refused to cook the hexapus and said it should have been left in the sea.

But the father-of-two, 49, did what he has done many times before on holiday, frying up the octopus and serving it with tomato, lemon and a lettuce leaf.

It was only then that he checked with a friend who is a biologist – and felt sick at what he had done.

The first known hexapus was found off North Wales in 2008 and taken to  Blackpool Sea Life Centre.

Nicknamed Henry, he was then released back into the sea where he has probably died of natural causes as their maximum life span is five years.

A repentant Mr Hydras 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.

One less octopus, sorry hexapus in the sea. So what's the moral here: Don't kill hexapus period.