11/13/2022 0 Comments Flapjack octopus![]() “In this case, we used data on oxygen concentrations, water temperature, and salinity collected by MBARI’s ROVs to help us figure out what conditions the animals need.” “We do the best we can to replicate an animal’s natural environment,” says Bret. The deep sea is almost pitch black, with crushing pressure, near-freezing water, little oxygen, and sparse food. The next challenge was keeping the animals alive after they reached the surface. “Many of these creatures are not rare in the deep sea,” she says. She combed through MBARI’s database of ROV (remotely operated vehicle) dives, looking for locations in Monterey Canyon where deep-sea octopuses and squid were likely to be found. Enter Stephanie Bush, postdoctoral fellow and expert on deep-sea cephalopods. The first challenge is to find the animals. They’re great at finding and collecting deep-sea animals, and we’re good at keeping them alive and sharing them with the public.” “And they’ve been working with these animals for years. “MBARI has some of the best deep-sea biologists in the world,” says Aquarist Bret Grasse. In the last month, we’ve displayed them as part of our “Tentacles” exhibit-thanks to a collaboration with our partner institution, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). The Coolest Animals You’ve Never Seen: How a “Dream Team” of Scientists from the Aquarium and MBARI is Displaying Deep-Sea Cephalopodsįrom the vampire squid to the flapjack octopus, deep-sea cephalopods come in an amazing variety of shapes and sizes. To find out more about the research being done by the Aquarium and MBARI on deep-sea cephalopods and the flapjack octopus, check out the following resources!īehold The Flapjack Octopus! flapjack octopus opisthoteuthis adorabilis adorabilis opisthoteuthis monterey bay aquarium deep sea science friday scifri Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute MBARI Thanks to the unique partnership between MBARI and the Aquarium, thousands of people have had the chance to meet these deep-sea denizens, members of a community of animals living in the planet’s largest-and least explored-habitat. We don’t know how long they’ll be visible to the public before returning behind the scenes-in some cases, deep-sea cephalopods only remain on exhibit for a few days at a time, before returning to a dark, quiet area where aquarists can closely study them. They’re currently on display in our Tentacles special exhibition, in a custom exhibit that boasts chilly water, lowered oxygen levels and red-lit darkness designed to keep deep-sea cephalopods comfortable. These individuals were collected as a part of ongoing research into their taxonomy and mysterious deep-ocean biology. MBARI researchers suspect that our local flapjack octopus might be a new species. “Who ordered the short-stack?” Aquarist Ellen Umeda meets a flapjack octopus 1,300 feet (400 m) deep thanks to MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Ventana. Last week, deep-sea researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and our cephalopod aquarists found several flapjack octopus (Opisthoteuthis sp.) in the deep waters of the Monterey submarine canyon during a research cruise. Tentacles octopuses cephalopods monterey bay aquarium flapjack octopus mbariĭeep-sea flapjack octopus return to Tentacles! That first batch didn’t mature, but we’ll try again if any other individuals reproduce. One of the flapjack octopuses even laid eggs in our behind-the-scenes holding area. They’re helping us learn about many deep-sea species, through video observation and occasionally collecting individuals. We may yet discover more species in this group-with the help of MBARI. They’re one of the cirrate octopuses – a tiny group within the overall family. Very little is known about the life history of these animals. Since the octopus can’t see red light, it thinks it’s in the darkness of the deep sea, its natural environment. We use a red light to display this species. These images show the flapjack octopus ( Opisthoteuthis sp.) in the wild, and on exhibit. It was collected by our sister organization, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and it’s on exhibit now in our Tentacles special exhibition, which opened this morning for members, and tomorrow (April 12) for the general public! Does this octopus look familiar? The “flapjack octopus” is a rarely observed, deep-sea species, but you may know it better as the inspiration for the animated character Pearl in Finding Nemo. ![]()
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