When asked how many arms an octopus has, nearly everyone will automatically say “eight.” But that’s because most people don’t know about the seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus), which makes sense, since these animals live deep in the ocean where humans rarely go. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) recently shared rare footage of this seven-armed creature, though, and it’s fascinating.
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“Fresh from the deep—a rarely seen deep-sea giant that MBARI researchers recently observed in Monterey Bay,” wrote MBARI News in an Instagram post. “During a research expedition with the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Ventana in Monterey Bay last month, Senior Scientist Steven Haddock and researchers from MBARI’s Biodiversity and Biooptics Team happened upon a rare sight approximately 700 meters (2,300 feet) deep: a seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus). This sighting marked just our fourth observation of this species in nearly four decades of ocean exploration.”
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MBARI explains that it was able to film this extraordinary creature using a 4K camera specially developed by engineers for deep-sea exploration. This deep-sea tech allowed the researchers to collect detailed observations of the animal’s appearance and behavior.
Interestingly, this seven-arm octopus was mid-meal when the ROV came upon it. MBARI says it’s eating a crimson red helmet jelly (Periphylla periphylla), which you can also see in the footage.
Check out MBARI’s video of this rare, seven-armed creature here:
Header stock image by MASTER/Getty Images
