A group of deep-sea scavengers were spotted feasting on the remains of a whale by ocean researchers who looked on as the fish, octopods, and marine worms picked the huge carcass clean.

The Nautilus Live team filmed their macabre encounter during a livestream of their underwater explorations off the coast of California, and crew members can be heard gasping in awe at the exciting scene rarely caught on camera.

Close-up shots show octopuses clamped on to the skeletal remains of the giant mammal, identified by the marine experts as a baleen whale. Osedax, or ‘bone-eating’, worms are also hard at work living up to their name, boring into the last remnants of the whale.

Miss our overWHALEming discovery today? We found a baleen whale skeleton being actively scavenged at Davidson Seamount with @MBNMS. Rewind up to 12hours on https://t.co/Ajj54YYX2Q & we’ll post our full dive video soon. Did you have favorite #NautilusLive screenshots from today? pic.twitter.com/03vhuOg96B — E/V Nautilus (@EVNautilus) October 16, 2019

WHALEFALL! The Nautilus team just discovered a whale skeleton on the seafloor covered in bone-eating worms, cusk eels, and octopus devouring this massive deep sea meal. Watch #NautilusLive as our science team gathers more data at Davidson Seamount @MBNMS: https://t.co/Ajj54YYX2Qpic.twitter.com/Jq9koQzvPh — E/V Nautilus (@EVNautilus) October 16, 2019

There are about 15 known species of baleen whales swimming in the world’s oceans, with some growing as long as 31 meters (102 feet) and weighing up to 190 tons.

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