Would you just look at him? Sprung to life out of a Pixar movie, the ghostly little fella pictured above was discovered last month by Deep Discoverer, the deep-diving robot that travels with NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer. Spotted 4,290 meters beneath the surface, it’s the deepest observation of a so-called incirrate octopus ever, and it might be a new species.
For several years, the Okeanos Explorer—the only federally-funded US ship built to explore Earth’s oceans purely for science—has been traveling the world, deploying its ROV to shine a spotlight on some of the darkest corners of the ocean floor, and live-streaming video footage to two-legged mammals with internet connections. Along the way, the mission has discovered a treasure trove of strange and adorable creatures.
via Gizmodo
