Unknown Octopus

Unknown octopus

Octopus with webbed arms and a fringed mantle moving from old to new seafloor node at the OR Offshore site at 600m depth offshore of Newport, OR. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI, Dive J2-1249, V20

This small octopus with a frilled mantle and extensive webbing between the arms has only been seen once during the OOI cruises. We observed it moving between nodes at the Oregon Offshore (600 m) site off the coast of Newport, Oregon in 2020. Experts theorized that it could be a frilled giant pacific octopus (which has similar mantle protrusions, but doesn’t usually have webbing this extensive) or a smooth-skinned octopus (Muusoctopus leioderma).

References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10526020/
https://bioone.org/journals/american-malacological-bulletin/volume-35/issue-2/006.035.0206/Body-Patterns-of-the-Frilled-Giant-Pacific-Octopus-a-New/10.4003/006.035.0206.full

Octopus with webbed arms and a fringed mantle moving from old to new seafloor node at the OR Offshore site at 600m depth offshore of Newport, OR. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI, Dive J2-1249, V20
Octopus with webbed arms and a fringed mantle after moving from old to new seafloor node at the OR Offshore site at 600m depth offshore of Newport, OR. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI, Dive J2-1249, V20