Sunday, January 8, 2012

Pale Octopus Discovered

A new species of Octopus has been discovered in the waters off Antarctica. British scientists made the discovery using a remote operated vehicle called “Isis” to scout the sea bed.

A number of other species were also discovered in the region including colonies of snails and a hairy-chested yeti crab.

The creatures were discovered living near a hydrothermal vent in the southern ocean. The black, smoky waters reach temperatures of almost 752F. The scalding waters are created by hydrothermal vents powered by underwater volcanoes.

The deep sea octopus is pale white, almost translucent. It moves using its back four tentacles to shuffle on the sea floor while the front four tentacles constantly feel in front of it. The animal seems to rely on touch since it lives in constant darkness a mile and a half down in the ocean.

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