The ROV (remotely operated vehicle) Hercules caught wonderful video of an octopus, possibly Cirrothauma magna, putting on a defensive display of puffing itself up to warn off threats. It stretches out, wiggles its "ears," turns into an umbrella, then a tent, then a balloon, then a parachute, all to the delight of the crew watching aboard the E/V Nautilus. This octopus was spotted 1600 meters (one mile) below the surface of the Pacific, near Southwest Baker Island, just north of the equator. -via Laughing Squid
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It looks like the dumbo octopus, but has much longer tentacles! Gorgeous!
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So strange and graceful, so deep in the ocean.
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