The Elusive Glass Octopus Finally Filmed In The Dark Depths Of The Pacific

A month-long survey by researchers who explored more than 30,000 square kilometers has at last yielded results. The marine scientists were able to capture a rare glimpse of the obscure glass octopus, known as Vitreledonella richardi, while exploring seamounts in the vast, mysterious depths of the Pacific.

The glass octopus has barely a few features that are opaque and clearly visible – their eyeballs, digestive tract, and optic nerve. They have rarely been filmed before, and never with such clarity, despite scientists having knowledge of their existence for over a century.

Marine scientists had been forced to rely on specimens of the glass octopus found in the gut of predators for past studies. This is the first live footage taken by scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute.