Watch out, these images will blow your mind! Last week, on the Instagram account of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, an American foundation, we discovered a video of a very rare species: the 'glass octopus.'
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In the short clip, you can clearly see the translucent octopus with its little yellow spots. It is simply sublime. However, we advise you to stay away from it if you come across it...
A 'glass octopus' discovered
The scientists encountered it during a 34-day expedition to the seamounts of the Phoenix Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was there that they came across the rare specimen. The vitreledonella richardi, as it is known, was first discovered in 1918, and since then there have been very few photographs of it.
The scientists explained in a press release:
Prior to this expedition, live video of glass octopus was limited, forcing scientists to study specimens found in the digestive contents of predators to learn more about the animal.
A translucent octopus
The 651-metre-deep 'glass octopus' lives in the subtropics and tropics of the world, between 200 and 3 000 metres below the surface. What makes it so special? It is completely transparent. This makes it possible to see its eyeballs, its digestive tract and its optic nerve.
There is still so much to discover in the depths of the oceans. Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, concludes in her press release:
Expeditions like these teach us why we must increase our efforts to restore and better understand the world's marine ecosystems.
