The initial stage of the adsorption of octithiophene (8T) molecules on a Cu(111) surface is investigated using a scanning tunneling microscope at room temperature. We find a characteristic molecular chain structure of 8T molecules on a terrace of the Cu(111) surface, which has not been reported so far for adsorption of oligothiophene molecules on metal surfaces. Up to the adsorption of 0.26 monolayer (ML), 81 molecules in the molecular chain align with their long axis parallel to the Cu < 11-2 > direction. With increasing coverage, there appear 8T molecules that align with their long axis parallel to the Cu < 110 > direction. The appearance of different molecular orientations is understood by the decrease of the number of the adsorption sites for extending the molecular chains. Fragments of 8T molecules, such as single thiophene molecules, are also observed in this work. They are trapped only at the step edges of the Cu(111) surface at the beginning and later trapped in a small Cu(111) region surrounded by 8T molecules. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.