Scientists have captured footage of the large-eyed jellyhead octopus spreading its arms wide and inflating the membrane beneath to jump along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Jumping octopus at a depth of 4,800 meters. (Video: Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre)
The deep regions of the ocean hold many mysteries. The creatures living there have strange lives, vastly different from those on the surface. A research team from the University of Western Australia encountered one such bizarre creature during their Pacific expedition aboard the Dagon, as reported by Science Alert on October 28. They used submersible laboratories to observe organisms living in extremely cold temperatures, high pressure, and perpetual darkness deep beneath the sea.
At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, the scientists captured rare footage of the large-eyed jellyhead octopus (Cirrothauma magna), which belongs to the deep-sea octopus group, jumping along the seafloor at a depth of 4,800 meters.
Experts still do not understand much about this species. Their habitat is extremely difficult to access, making it rare for them to be observed in their natural environment deep under the sea.
A study published in the journal Marine Biology in 1997 provided some clues about this peculiar jumping behavior. The research described observations of deep-sea octopuses jumping along the seafloor in a similar manner and suggested that it may be a mode of locomotion.
However, this behavior may have other meanings. Experts have previously seen deep-sea octopuses jumping along the seafloor in shallower areas.
Large-eyed jellyhead octopus jumping on the Pacific Ocean floor.
In a study published last year in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, marine scientist Alexey Golikov from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (Germany) and colleagues described the foraging jumping behavior of the large fin jellyhead octopus (Cirroteuthis muelleri), also part of the deep-sea octopus group. In their research, they noted that the animal performed the same sequence of movements seen in the new video of the large-eyed jellyhead octopus.
First, the octopus jumps off the seafloor. At the peak of each jump, it spreads its arms wide, inflating the membrane between them for a landing. During the descent, the octopus grabs any prey it can envelop, then jumps again and repeats the sequence. These observations were collected from 2020 to 2022, marking the first time this foraging behavior was observed and recorded in deep-sea octopuses.
There is still much that humans do not know about life beneath the oceans. But one thing is becoming increasingly clear: in the deepest, darkest, and coldest parts of the ocean, incredible ecosystems continue to find ways to thrive.
