An extraordinary face from the deep ocean
Archival expedition photographs reveal octopuses in places people rarely get to see.
An octopus hangs against dark water in this photograph from the 2023 Shakedown + EXPRESS West Coast Exploration expedition. The image was captured with a 35mm still camera on NOAA’s remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer.
Other dives recorded different moments in octopus life. During the 2023 Seascape Alaska 5 expedition, one dive encountered nearly 20 octopuses. Most were brooding eggs, while some juveniles moved across the seafloor.
These are archival encounters, not a newly announced species discovery. Together, they offer glimpses of life far below the surface and show how remotely operated vehicles can bring back detailed photographs from an environment that is difficult to visit.
Story context and image credits
2023
View the full photo-credit recordView the original Instagram publicationSources & notes
- NOAA Ocean Exploration: Octopus photograph and cameraoceanexplorer.noaa.gov
- NOAA Ocean Exploration: Brooding octopus, Dive 18oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
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