octopus have been dubbed one of themost mysteriousandintelligentcreatures in the ocean . As would befit an animal that inspired epical monsters like the Kraken and Ursula the Sea Witch , it ’s no surprisal that inquiry into their behaviour only unfurl cracking enigma about the ancient cephalopod than it does allow answer , as exemplify in a study publish inDeep Sea Research Part 1 .
Two mysterious - sea expedition give away a gargantuan grouping of octopus ( no , it ’s not"octopi " ) and their eggs in a blank space where they should n’t be able to survive ; 100 miles west of Costa Rica and over 3 kilometers ( 2 geographical mile ) underwater .
The Dorado Outcrop is a rocky plot of volcanic seafloor where hydrothermal fluids seep through fissure . researcher were plan to take geological samples here when instead they found dozens of octopuses huddled around opening in the seafloor .
With “ tremendous eyes ” and pink “ dinner party - plate - sized ” bodies , the more than 600 octopods ( admittedly some could have been double - number ) are believed to belong to an unknown species ofMuusoctopus .
One of theMuusoctopusoctopuses studied by the researchers . Phil Torres , Geoff wheat berry
" When I first see the exposure , I thought , ' They should n’t be there ! Not that deep and not that many of them ! ' " suppose zoologist and co - writer Janet Voight in astatement .
In the more than 200 minute of footage , a sum of 11 ball clutch and 186 eggs confirm the octopus were indeed there , but not whether their try was fruitful . Close interrogation reveal no embryologic maturation in the eggs .
Perhaps odder than their clustered behavior – Muusoctopusare unremarkably loners – is why they would prefer such a harsh environment to reproduce . cryptic - sea octopuses are stenothermic , meaning they only live on in a narrow temperature range . Near these vent-hole , temperatures rank from 2.5 - 12.3 ° C ( 36.5 - 54 ° F ) , which likely speed up egg development while increase the octopus ’ metabolic pace and demand for oxygen . Together , elevated temperature and low-toned oxygen level create a virulent environs .
Their pick is probably an accident . The octopuses belike attach their eggs to sway when the hydrothermal vents are n’t spewing out fluid , which can take place in as little as six days . Once attached , it ’s unlikely the new moms would need to leave their novel nesting priming . Octopus eggs can take as long as 53 days to develop , and female devilfish only produce one clutches in their life before choke shortly after .
It ’s not all tough news for this rare group of octopuses . The ill-omened octo - moms credibly represent a much bigger universe not yet seen .
" Odds are that this outcrop has empty areas where other female nurture their eggs to cover . They ’re analogous to boomers who have all the undecomposed job , while the millennials wait , assay one lilliputian piece of cool rock , ” said Voight .
consort to the researchers , there are X of million more outcrop globally that more than likely have seafloor features , conduits , and networks alike to Dorado – a prime place for octopod egg pensiveness .
