Particle.news
Get it on Google Play
Download on the App Store
12 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Scientists Name New Tiny Blue Octopus Found Deep Off the Galápagos

High-resolution micro-CT scans allowed researchers to describe the species from a single preserved specimen, underscoring gaps in deep-ocean knowledge and risks from expanding deep-sea industry

Image
Image
"I Wanted To See The Specimen!": Tiny, Golf Ball-Sized Blue Octopus Species Discovered In Galápagos Islands
The tiny octopus lives at an ocean depth of about 5,800 feet.

Overview

  • Researchers first spotted the golf ball–size octopus on ROV video during a July 2015 expedition near Darwin Island at about 1,773 meters depth.
  • The lone collected specimen was preserved aboard the ship, archived at the Charles Darwin Research Station, and after multi-year logistics was CT-scanned at the Field Museum leading to a formal description published in Zootaxa in May 2026.
  • Anatomy visible in the scans — smooth dorsal skin, a single row of suckers on short arms, lack of an ink sac, and distinctive internal funnel and tooth features — led authors to place it in the genus Microeledone and name it Microeledone galapagensis.
  • Only one physical specimen exists for study while the team also has video of two similar individuals, so scientists relied on non-destructive micro-computed tomography to view internal organs and mouthparts without cutting the rare type specimen.
  • Authors say the find highlights how little of the deep seafloor is known, notes the biogeographic surprise of a Microeledone in the equatorial Pacific, and raises concerns that deep-sea mining and climate change could threaten many undocumented species.