The observation was announced on Tuesday by the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
The octopus was caught on camera by a remotely controlled underwater camera at a depth of 600 meters in the South Atlantic. The octopus – a young fish – was approximately 30 centimeters long. Fully grown colossal octopuses that researchers have found in the stomachs of whales and seabirds can, however, grow up to seven meters long – almost as large as a small fire truck.
The octopus was discovered last month near South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands during an expedition. The researchers waited to release the images until they had confirmed the species identification with other independent researchers.
I really love that we've seen a young colossal octopus first. This animal is so beautiful, says Kat Bolstad, octopus researcher at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, who helped confirm the identification.
The young octopus is almost completely transparent and has thin arms. As adults, octopuses lose their glass-like appearance and become dark red or purple.
When fully grown, they are considered the world's largest known invertebrate animals.
