First image of octopus at a depth of 7,000m

Scientists photograph Dumbo octopus swimming the largest depth ever recorded under the Indian Ocean, exceeding the previous record nearly 2,000 m.

Dr. Alan Jamieson, CEO of Armatus Oceanic, and his team discovered octopus at record depths under the Java Trench, Indian Ocean, BBC reported today. The new research is part of the Five Deeps Expedition ocean exploration project and has been published in the journal Marine Biology. Jamieson hopes the findings in the project can help shed some misconceptions about the deepest parts of the ocean.

Dumbo octopus swims over to look at the decoy placed on the camera. (Photo: BBC).

The scientists recorded octopus thanks to Lander, a device dropped from a research vessel, landed on the sea floor and photographed things passing by. In the new study, the device captures two octopuses at a depth of 5,760 m and 6,957 m. Their body lengths are 43 cm and 35 cm, respectively. They belong to the Grimpoteuthis octopus, also known as the Dumbo octopus due to its protruding fin on the head similar to the dumbo flying elephant character in Disney animation in the 1940s.

Previously, scientists also found eggs and octopus traces at great depths. However, the largest depth ever recorded in octopus is only 5.145 m. It was a black and white photo taken in the Caribbean 50 years ago.

Taking octopus images at record depths in the Indian Ocean indicates that the creature could find potential habitat in at least 99% of the world's ocean floor. However, according to Dr. Jamieson, they certainly need some special adaptations to live in such a deep sea.

"The octopus has to do something special inside the cell. You can imagine the cell is like a balloon, which tends to burst under high pressure. So the cell needs to be biologically adjusted. "All the adaptation needed to live at high pressure takes place at a cellular level," Jamieson said.