Underwater robot filmed a transparent octopus in the waters of the Pacific Ocean

The transparent octopus Vitreledonella richardi is quite rare. Recently, an underwater robot filmed him during

A 34-day expedition off the remote Phoenix Islands. This archipelago is located 5100 km northeast of Sydney, Australia.

Specimens of the glass octopus Vitreledonellarichardi are almost completely transparent, with the exception of the cylindrical eyes, the optic nerve and the digestive tract appear opaque. The expedition crew reported two encounters with a glass octopus. This is very rare, considering that previously these cephalopods were almost never found. Scientists examined the individuals, studying their pieces in the contents of the intestines of predators.

Image courtesy of the Ocean Schmidt Institute

Scientists have found “glass” octopusesuntil 1918 . Little is known about these cephalopods, except that they live in tropical and subtropical regions in the deep ocean in the mesopelagic, or twilight zone, at depths of 200 to 1000 meters.

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