Grimpoteuthis sp. (sea-monster-ise)

Royalty-free image courtesy of MBARI and The Deep: the extraordinary creatures of the abyss [Amazon UK; Amazon US].

It's not often that we get to see strange underwater creatures in action in their natural habitat. But thanks to the many advances in digital technology, we are given this rare look at a mysterious benthopelagic sea animal: Grimpoteuthis bathynectes, one in a group of 14 recognised species that are often referred to as "Dumbo octopus" because their fins resemble the large ears that the fictional character, Dumbo the elephant, used to fly. In this astonishing video, filmed 200 miles east of the coast of Oregon state, we can observe how this ghostly-white octopus moves through the inky-blackness of the deep sea:

This octopus was filmed with a high-definition underwater video camera at a depth greater than 2000 metres (at 6600 feet). This is the aphotic zone, where less than 1% of the sun's rays ever penetrate. Little is known about these animals, but observations have revealed that benthic Grimpoteuthis species primarily consume crustaceans, worms, and bivalves. Those Dumbo species that hover over the sea floor are hunting small benthic copepods.

This individual was filmed in close proximity to hydrothermal vents associated with underwater volcanoes in the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. The Juan de Fuca Ridge is located off the coasts Washington state (United States) and the province of British Columbia (Canada). Hydrothermal vents are geothermal vents located on the sea floor, arising from cracks in the earth's surface where two tectonic plates are moving away from each other and new crust is being formed. Geothermal vents, usually found near volcanos, release super-heated water at temperatures ranging from 60°C up to as high as 464°C. These vents can be found above sea level (such as at Yellowstone National Park) but are more common on the sea floor. Benthic geothermal vents are commonly known as "black smokers" or "white smokers" depending upon the colours of the minerals they emit. A rich diversity of marine life, including giant tube worms, clams, limpets and shrimp are supported by chemosynthetic archaea, microscopic single-celled organisms that superficially resemble bacteria. These chemosynthetic archaea harness energy from the high temperatures near the vents to convert inorganic minerals into organic molecules, thereby forming the biological foundation of this habitat.

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The VISIONS '05 expedition was led by Professors John Delaney and Deborah Kelley of the University of Washington. Primary sponsors were the National Science Foundation, W.M. Keck Foundation, NOAA Coastal Services Center, University of Washington, and the ResearchChannel. The music is courtesy of Bryan Verhoye (who can be found on twitter: @MrAvgGuy).

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Sources:

Collins, Martin A. (2003). The genus Grimpoteuthis (Octopoda: Grimpoteuthidae) in the north-east Atlantic, with descriptions of three new species. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 139(1): 93–127. doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2003.00074.x (free abstract)

NOAA Researchers, Ships Participate in Census of Marine Life's

Decade of Discovery (NOAA press release).

Dumbo octopuses, Nature wildlife (BBC).

Dumbo Octopus (Biomes Marine Biology Center).

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