"He's tiny": new species of octopus found in Galápagos

In a new study published by Zootaxa, scientists record the discovery of a new species of octopus, small and blue, found in the Galápagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador.

The small octopus was found for the first time on an expedition, carried out in 2015, in a collaboration between the CDF (Charles Darwin Foundation) and the Directorate of the Galápagos National Park.

The expedition crew used a remotely operated underwater robot to explore near Darwin Island, in the southern tip of the Galapagos.

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The foundation reported that audio recording from the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) camera recorded the scientists' first reactions upon encountering the small creature, near an underwater mountain, 1,773 meters (5,800 feet) below the water's surface.

"It's tiny!", "It's blue!", said the researchers when they were impressed while collecting the animal. Throughout the mission, two more octopuses similar to this one were found.

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At the end of the expedition, scientists were unable to identify which species he belonged to.

So they contacted octopus expert Janet Voight, who led the research to describe the new species.

"Right away, I knew it was something really special. I'd never seen anything like it," says Voight.

It was necessary to move the octopus from the Islands to Chicago for examinations and verification and validation of the new species. For this displacement, the animal was preserved in alcohol and formalin.

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In these cases of species discovery, it is necessary to examine all parts of the animal, including the mouth and teeth, actions that are recommended to be carried out after the animal has dried.

Because it is something not really known by scientists, Voight chose not to follow this practice, choosing to continue using a computed tomography, which is non-destructive. In the tomography, x-rayed slices of the octopus were digitally organized, creating a 3D model.

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The researchers were able to observe details of the internal organs of the small blue animal, which provided the necessary information to classify it as a new species among octopods.

The new octopus species was named Microeledone galapagensis and is the first new octopus species named and classified by Janet Voight. "They are small octopuses that live in the depths of the ocean, and almost no one on Earth has ever seen them," reported the researcher.

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Source: CNN