Last week, deep-sea researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and our cephalopod aquarists found several flapjack octopus (Opisthoteuthis sp.) in the deep waters of the Monterey submarine canyon during a research cruise.
“Who ordered the short-stack?” Aquarist Ellen Umeda meets a flapjack octopus 1,300 feet (400 m) deep thanks to MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Ventana.
MBARI researchers suspect that our local flapjack octopus might be a new species. These individuals were collected as a part of ongoing research into their taxonomy and mysterious deep-ocean biology. They’re currently on display in our Tentacles special exhibition, in a custom exhibit that boasts chilly water, lowered oxygen levels and red-lit darkness designed to keep deep-sea cephalopods comfortable.
We don’t know how long they’ll be visible to the public before returning behind the scenes—in some cases, deep-sea cephalopods only remain on exhibit for a few days at a time, before returning to a dark, quiet area where aquarists can closely study them. Thanks to the unique partnership between MBARI and the Aquarium, thousands of people have had the chance to meet these deep-sea denizens, members of a community of animals living in the planet’s largest—and least explored—habitat.
To find out more about the research being done by the Aquarium and MBARI on deep-sea cephalopods and the flapjack octopus, check out the following resources!
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