Rare Glass Octopus Spotted in the Pacific Ocean by Marine Researches

Screenshot via YouTube/Schmidt Ocean

Back in June, a team of marine researchers from Schmidt Ocean Institute embarked on a journey to explore the depths of the Pacific Ocean around the remote Phoenix Islands Archipelago. During these explorations, which lasted 34 days, they’ve encountered numerous fascinating sea creatures, including a rare glass octopus.

The glass octopus (lat. Vitreledonella richardi) got its name for being almost transparent and having eyeballs, a digestive tract, and an optic nerve as its only visible features. The species prefers deep waters and this, alongside its transparency and small size (up to 18 inches), allows it to stay away from humans.

For these reasons, live footage of a glass octopus was hard to come by until now. Luckily, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s researchers managed to capture some high-quality footage of the encounter with this fascinating creature and have recently shared it with the public on social media.

The footage is not only a great watch but might also prove valuable for research purposes. Until now, the scientists were limited to learning about glass octopus by studying its remaining found in the gut of predators.

Besides the glass octopus, the team had several other interesting sightings. This included spotting a rare whale shark, which according to the Institute dates back millions of years, and witnessing a scene where one crab steals a fish from another one. You can check them out below.