Unusual 'octopus' encountered at 900m depth - video

On yet another expedition into the depths of the oceans, scientists from Nautilus Live came across an unusual deep-sea inhabitant which has already been hailed by internet users as the world’s cutest octopus. The researchers themselves commenting on the live feed couldn’t help but compare the unusual creature’s appearance to that of a cartoon character.

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The Nautilus team encountered this distinctive animal in waters near the California coast, at a depth of 900 metres. The purple creature is in fact a rosia pacifica also known as a stuby squid. In fact, it is not an octopus, but closer to other molluscs – cuttlefish. Nevertheless, leaving aside these details, it must be admitted that the purple inhabitant of the deep for a layman seems to be a small sweet octopus.

The representatives of the species encountered live on the seabed. In search of food, they bury themselves in it, leaving only their characteristic eyes above the surface, with which they look out for shrimps and small fish, which are their main food. Encounters with them in their natural environment are extremely rare.

Rosia pacifica are found in the waters of the North Atlantic from Japan to the coast of California. Most often they inhabit the seabed at depths of 300 metres, but on more than one occasion these extremely colourful creatures have been found at depths of up to 1000 metres.

If you want to follow the live broadcasts, straight from the ocean depths, we recommend you visit Nautilus Live. There you will also find plenty of video footage and photographs documenting the creatures encountered or the wrecks explored – including those located far beyond the limits in which divers can move.

Source: nautiluslive.org