Nataly
In one of science’s cutest recent discoveries, a deep-diving robot — associated with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Okeanos Explorer — has spotted what may be a new species of octopus during a dive in the Hawaiian Archipelago, Mashable reports.
“It is almost certainly an undescribed species and may not belong to any described genus,” NOAA wrote.
14,074 feet — or 4,290 meters — beneath the surface, this is the deepest point where an octopus of the incirrates suborder has ever been seen.
“As the ROV was traversing a flat area of rock interspersed with sediment at 4,290 meters, it came across a remarkable little octopod sitting on a flat rock dusted with a light coat of sediment,” NOAA wrote. “The appearance of this animal was unlike any published records and was the deepest observation ever for this type of cephalopod.”
More research needs to be done to further understand this species.
