The National Zoo’s elderly giant Pacific octopus has died.

Who needs a panda? The king of the invertebrate kingdom — that’s actually a very distinguished title for people in the know — has arrived in the District. At the end of January, the National Zoo acquired an awesome giant Pacific octopus, which represents one of the largest figures in the largest branch of the animal kingdom. Invertebrates make up basically all of the animal kingdom: some 95% of all animals lack spine, and 99%…