New species of flapjack octopus discovered in deep-sea canyon off Australia

CANBERRA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A new species of flapjack octopus, dubbed the Carnarvon Flapjack Octopus, has been discovered in deep-sea canyons off Western Australia.

The new species "Opisthoteuthis carnarvonensis," named for the location in which it was found -- Carnarvon, a town in Western Australia, was discovered during a 2022 deep-sea expedition aboard a research vessel, according to a press release from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Tuesday.

The discovery is the 10th new species identified from that expedition. It joins an expanding list of newly named creatures, including the Painted Hornshark and the Parallel-spine Scorpionfish, the release said.

With large eyes and vivid blood-red tentacles, this gelatinous octopus measures just 4 cm across, it said, adding this species is only known from the deep waters of the Carnarvon and Gascoyne Marine Parks.

The voyage, conducted by the CSIRO research vessel Investigator, explored the largely uncharted Gascoyne and Carnarvon Canyon Marine Parks in Western Australia, which marked the first comprehensive marine biodiversity survey of the region, said a study jointly conducted by CSIRO, Western Australian Museum, and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Dumbo octopus are a rare and unusual species that live on the seafloor. They reproduce and grow slowly, are very soft and gelatinous, and, unlike other octopuses, they produce no ink and cannot change color, said Tristan Verhoeff of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Collected from depths of up to 4,510 meters, the octopus belongs to a group known as cirrate or "dumbo" octopuses, named for their ear-like fins. These deep-sea animals can flatten themselves like a pancake or puff up like a gelatinous umbrella, and are believed to feed on small crustaceans and worms, according to the study published in Australian Journal of Taxonomy.

Scientists estimate that over 1,000 new species may still await formal description from the last decade of Investigator voyages. Enditem