Ghost of the abyss: Eerie dance of the deep-sea octopus captured on video 1.25 miles under the Pacific Ocean

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Boo! It may look like a computer game baddie, but this ghostly looking creature is one of the world's most rarely seen deep-sea octopods


It could be screenshot from ghost house level of the latest Super Mario video game blockbuster.

But these ghostly images in fact show a rarely seen deep-sea octopus captured in its natural habitat, deep on the ocean floor.

The octopuses feature two wing-like fins, which make them appear like Boos, the ghostly adversaries from the Mario series.


Abyssal zone: Researchers piloted a remote sub 1.25miles under the ocean to capture this Grimpoteuthis bathynectes octopus in its natural habitat


A remotely piloted camera plunged to 6600 ft (1.25 miles) into the abyss off the coast of Oregon, on the U.S. Pacific Northwest, to capture this Grimpoteuthis bathynectes octopus in its natural habitat.

Researchers from the University of Washington, who piloted the robot sub, captured these images during a 2005 expedition, but the video has just been released.


Inky black: Sea creatures from this far down need no colouration - light from the sun cannot penetrate to these depths The dumbo octopuses live close to the hydrothermal vent spouting from the underwater volcanoes at the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean.


They are the deepest dwellers of any octopus species, typically living at depths of 3000–4000m, with some living up to 7000m below sea level.

Hovering above the very bottom of the deep, they scour the sands searching for worms, bivalves, pelagic copepods, and other crustaceans for food.


Chilly: With temperatures dropping as low as 2C, these octopuses can only survive close to geothermal springs spouting from an undersea volcanic range


They move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, and by waving their ear-like fins.

Like most bottom dwellers, the dumbo octopuses have no pigmentation, since colouration has no use in an environment without light.

Little else is known about the creatures since, at these depths, the conditions are inhospitable and even most submarines would be crushed like a soft drinks can under a tractor.

The pressure from the vast weight of sea water can reach up to 11,000 pounds per square inch, and the temperature drops to a chilly 2-3C.

As no sunlight reaches this layer of the ocean, deep sea creatures have adapted to reduced eyesight, with their large eyes detecting only bioluminescent flashes.


Graceful: The dumbo octopuses move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, and by waving their ear-like fins


Survival of the fittest: Little else is known about the creatures since, at these depths, the conditions are inhospitable and even most submarines would be crushed like a soft drinks can under a tractor


Octopus Ballet



source: dailymail