These creatures are found at depths between 3,600 to 9,000 feet and they vary so much in appearance researchers thought they may be separate species.
"I started studying these octopus to figure out if the ones from near the hydrothermal vent were different from those elsewhere, but I could not identify any character that separated them," she said."At one point it seemed many animals near vents were distinct [species], but it turned out not to be so in this case."
Researchers counted the number of warts each octopus had on its back and head, as well as the number of suckers it had on each arm. Those collected at shallower depths were found to be larger, with smoother pink skin. The deeper they got, the smaller and wartier the octopuses were.Ocean Networks Canada/ CSSF-ROPOSAn extremely warty, deep sea octopus, with size scale.
"We still don't know [why they are wartier]," Voight said."Because there is only light from bioluminescence at these depths, it doesn't seem [that] it could be camouflage. I am working with a colleague now to document what [the warts] are made of—maybe that will give us a clue." In a statement, Voight said being able to identify species from the deep sea is hugely important in understanding this habitat."There's still just so much we don't know about the deep sea," she said."We need to be able to understand the information that's becoming available from ROV footage. And we can only do it by knowing what the animals look like."
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