Four New Eight-Armed Cephalopods Discovered in Deep Sea Gardens
Researchers have been probing the thermal vents off the west coast of Costa Rica, using a remotely operated vehicle miles below the surface. Two expeditions by the Schmidt Ocean Institute team in 2023 have yielded a wondrous find: four new species of octopus.
The deep-sea probe has been scouring a 100-square-mile-sized area of the Pacific at depths of around 2.5 miles. The trick has been to spot the low-temperature thermal vents where octopuses will make their nurseries, but these springs are only a bit warmer than the seabed, making them difficult to spot. (The seabed is about 35° F, while the vents are around 50°.)
“It’s like walking in a forest you’ve never been in before, with a flashlight, trying to find a hot spring. We were kind of taking a gamble,” researcher Beth Orcutt tells New Scientist.
The gamble paid off. The first expedition, in June 2023, uncovered three never-before-seen hydrothermal springs teeming with life – octopus, skates, and other creatures. Six months later, the team sent the bot back into the depths to capture footage and collect samples.
Among the more than 300 specimens collected are the four new eight-armed guys. So far only one of the deep-sea cephalopods has been named – the dorado octopus, after the rock outcrop known as El Dorado Hill, where it was found. Scientists at the Field Museum of Natural History and the Zoological Museum at the University of Costa Rica are now working on describing the species, so all four will have proper names soon.
Usually deep sea samples are sent to labs in the US or Europe for study and classification, but Costa Rica’s Museum of Zoology will hang on to these. The Schmidt Ocean Institute team believes keeping the samples in Costa Rica will allow local scientists to better understand the local ecosystems, which is important since they are in the best position to protect them.
Some fantastic footage of the octopus’s gardens can be viewed here.
Photo credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
