Schmidt Ocean Institute Press Release
June 28, 2023
International team of scientists explored previously unseen seamounts in Costa Rica, found new active octopus nursery and witnessed babies hatching
Puntarenas, Costa Rica – A team of international scientists have discovered a new deep-sea octopus nursery at a low-temperature hydrothermal vent offshore of Costa Rica. The discovery of the brooding site brings the world’s known octopus nurseries to four. The team also proved that the first known aggregation of deep-sea octopus, the Dorado Outcrop, is an active nursery.
Scientists believe the octopus is potentially a new species of Muusoctopus, a genus of small to medium sized octopus without an ink sac. Additionally, the expedition reinforced the idea that some species of deep-sea octopus seek out low-temperature hydrothermal vents for brooding their eggs.
The 19-day Octopus Odyssey expedition led by Dr. Beth Orcutt of the U.S.-based Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Dr. Jorge Cortes of the University of Costa Rica aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) included 18 international scientists. The team was thrilled to confirm that the Dorado Outcrop is an active nursery.
