For lovers of the great depths, it is a discovery of weight. According to the magazine Geo, an "octopus Dumbo" Grimpoteuthis, nicknamed so because of his fins in the shape of big ears,has been observed for the first time to approximately 7 000 meters deep, 6 957 metres to be exact. The observation, made public through a publication in the journal Marine Biology on the 26th of may, took place a year ago in the pit of Java, in the Indian ocean. It took place in the framework of the expedition Five Deeps, the object of which was to study the depths of the oceans of the globe, between 2018 and 2019.
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Changing the perception of the depths of the ocean
According to CNN, the specimen observed could be even a new species of Grimpoteuthis. Author of the study published in Marine Biology, and interrogated by the american chain, the marine ecologist from the british university of Newcastle Alan Jamieson reports that observe this octopus at this depth was a " shock ". His team, via a video camera positioned in the ocean, has been observed a first "octopus Dumbo" to 5, 760 meters long, 43 centimeters), and, two days later, a second 6 957 metres (length of 35.6 centimeters).
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" This proves that there are always surprises to discover with the large animals. Often, you hear of new species, and they tend to be tiny worms or small crustaceans, " says the scientist. "I love the fact that this changes the perception that people have of what look like marine animals of the deep ", he adds, noting that it is a " little octopus cute ", the opposite of the environment of weird and scary as the depths can sometimes think about.
