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This seldom seen glass devilfish bared all recently — even a purview of its innards — when an underwater robot film it gracefully soaring through the deep waters of the Central Pacific Ocean .
Marine biologists spotted the problematic glassoctopus(Vitreledonella richardi ) during a 34 - day expedition off the outback Phoenix Islands , an archipelago turn up more than 3,200 miles ( 5,100 kilometers ) nor'-east of Sydney , Australia .
A glass octopus moving in the deep sea of the Central Pacific Ocean.
Like other " methamphetamine " creatures , such asglass frogsand certaincomb jellies , glass octopuses are almost whole sheer , with only their cylindric eyes , visual face anddigestive tractappearing opaque . The pleasure trip crew reported two face-off with the glass devilfish — an impressive counting given that previously there was such modified footage of these clear cephalopods , scientist had to learn about them by analyze chunks of them in the gut subject matter of their predators .
link up : pic : Ghostly dumbo octopus dance in the deep sea
Glass octopuses were n’t chance upon until1918 . Little is known about these cephalopods , except that they live in tropical and semitropic areas in the deep ocean in the mesopelagic , or twilight zona , 656 to 3,280 fundament ( 200 to 1,000 meter ) below the surface , and the bathypelagic , or midnight zone , 3,280 to 9,800 feet ( 1,000 to 3,000 m ) below the surface , according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature .
Footage of glass octopuses is extremely rare.
Glass devilfish ' cylindric oculus shape may have evolved to minimize the silhouette of the creatures ' eyes when seen from below , " and is part of the animal ’s disguise strategy , " consort to a 1992 report in theJournal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom .
The glass devilfish was spotted by an expedition aboard the research vessel Falkor , run by the Schmidt Ocean Institute , a non-profit-making operating foundation co - founded by Wendy and Eric Schmidt , the former chief operating officer of Google . Scientists from Boston University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution also participate in the expedition .
During the pleasure trip , which ended July 8 , a crew of nautical scientist hear a smattering of what are likely newfound maritime animal on nine antecedently unexplored submarine mountains known as seamount . The squad also fill in high - firmness of purpose seafloor mapping of more than 11,500 square miles ( 30,000 substantial kilometer ) around the archipelago and video recordings of five extra seamount filmed by the submerged robotSuBastian , according to a affirmation .
White coral covered with fan stars in the Central Pacific Ocean.(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
SuBastianalso snag footage of awhale shark(the largest experience Pisces in the domain ) and a long - legged crab stealing a Pisces from another Cancer the Crab .
— Photos : Deep - ocean expedition discovers urban center of octopuses
— submerged photos : Elusive octopus calamary ' smiles ' for the camera
Feathery-like broad pink coral in the Central Pacific Ocean.(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
— Octlantis : See photos of tight - rumple gloomy devilfish communities
The expedition sentSuBastianon 21 dives , enabling the robot to register more than 182 hours on the seafloor . Seven of those nosedive took post in theU.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument(PRIMNM ) , which was establish in 2009 and expanded in 2014 . The expedition allowed scientist to document the monument , where marine animals are protect . The Falkor also revisit parts of the Phoenix Islands that its scientists had studied in 2017 , which allow for researchers to collect data that will aid them learn how the integral ecosystem and seamounts ' habitats are link together .
" The Ocean holds wonder and promises we have n’t even guess , much less discovered , " Wendy Schmidt said in the statement . " expedition like these teach us why we need to increase our efforts to bushel and well realise marine ecosystems everywhere — because the great chain of life that start in the sea is critical for human wellness and upbeat . "
A squat lobster on golden coral in the Central Pacific Ocean.(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
Originally published on Live Science .
The launch of the underwater robot SuBastian.(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
A drone captured this view of the Falkor research vessel.(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
