'Rarely Encountered' Blanket Octopus Makes an Appearance on Great Barrier Reef

Storyful
3 年前

A marine biologist spotted the rarely seen blanket octopus while filming on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland earlier this month.

Footage captured by Jacinta Shackleton, posted to her Instagram account on January 6, shows the elusive sea creature twisting and turning beneath the waves.

“Today I had such an incredible snorkel and came across a blanket octopus,” Shacklton wrote alongside the clip. “These animals are a rarely encountered pelagic octopus species that spend their whole lifecycle in the open ocean.”

“The first live male was only sighted in 2002,” she added. Credit: Jacinta Shackleton via Storyful