'Cute as a cartoon': scientists describe new species of deep-sea octopus

The octopus was first spotted back in 2015 during a deep-sea expedition by the E/V Nautilus off Darwin Island. The underwater robot was exploring the seabed at a depth of about 1,773 metres when the camera showed a small blue animal near an underwater mountain. Now scientists have confirmed: it is a species new to science - Microeledone galapagensis. The work is published in the journal Zootaxa.

Details

During the expedition, the researchers operated a remote underwater vehicle. It transmitted video from the seabed, where a person without special equipment can not get to without special equipment. On the recording scientists noticed a small blue octopus. Later, one specimen was collected, and two more similar octopuses were filmed.

After the expedition, the specimen was taken to the Charles Darwin Foundation's research station in the Galapagos. There, experts realised that the animal looked unusual and contacted octopus expert Janet Voight from the Field Museum in Chicago.

The problem was that the scientists only had one collected specimen. Normally, to describe a new species, researchers need to examine different parts of the body, including the mouth, beak and teeth. But cutting up a single rare specimen was not wanted.

So the octopus was studied using microcomputed tomography. This allowed them to literally "look inside" the animal without damaging it. Scientists were able to look at the internal structures and confirm that they were indeed a new species.

Why it's important

The discovery is important not only because the octopus turned out to be unusual and photogenic. Much more importantly, the deep-sea ecosystems of the Galapagos are still very poorly understood.

We know well the symbols of the archipelago - giant tortoises, marine iguanas and finches. But life at great depths remains almost invisible. There may be species that science knows nothing about yet.

Each discovery helps us understand what animals live in deep waters, how these ecosystems work and why they need to be protected. This is especially important for the Galapagos, a region where unique nature is vulnerable to climate change, fishing, pollution and other threats.

Background

The Galapagos Islands are off the coast of Ecuador and are known for a huge number of species that are found nowhere else. It was observations of the nature of the Galapagos that helped Charles Darwin formulate ideas about evolution. WWF calls the archipelago a "living laboratory" for scientists.

But the ocean around the islands is unevenly studied. The coastal areas are much better accessible to researchers than the deep sea. To see life at depths of hundreds or thousands of metres requires robots, special ships and expensive expeditions.

That's why the little blue octopus was an important find. It shows that even in a famous and long-studied region, there remain creatures that humans have not described before.

Source

Janet R. Voight et al., "A new species of Microeledone from Galápagos Islands and an amended diagnosis of the Megaleledonidae (Octopoda: Incirrata)", Zootaxa, 2026.