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🇵🇦 Panama /Health & Science

The blue octopus that dazzled scientists returns to the Galápagos

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Researchers returned a rare blue octopus specimen from Chicago’s Field Museum to the Galápagos Islands, where it will be displayed at the Charles Darwin Scientific Station.
  • Scientists first collected the golf-ball-sized specimen in 2015 at a depth of more than 1,700 meters, and only two other examples have been seen on video.
  • The specimen serves as the holotype for Microeledone galapagensis, an endemic species that researchers say requires further study and deep-sea exploration.

The small blue octopus that captured scientists’ attention has returned to the Galápagos Islands. The specimen, roughly the size of a golf ball, now rests at the Charles Darwin Scientific Station after being transported from Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.

With a name and good news: It is an endemic species.

· Miguel PintoThe natural-history collections curator described the significance of the specimen’s return.

Researchers first collected the unusual animal in 2015, more than 1,700 meters below the surface north of the Ecuadorian archipelago. Only three specimens have ever been seen. The other two were recorded only on video.

The octopus arrived dead at the Field Museum in 2022. There, scientists classified it and named it Microeledone galapagensis, revealing the species to the world. When it returned to the islands on Monday, its tentacles had lost their vivid blue color. Its body was opaque and its head completely pale.

There is so much more to discover, there are so many more questions.

· Paulina SepaThe marine collections manager discussed the research potential of the returned octopus.

Researchers handled the specimen with extreme care after it arrived wrapped in alcohol-soaked gauze. It now sits in a gallery under a red label identifying it as a holotype, the individual on which the description of a new species is based. It will be displayed alongside 140,000 marine organisms, vertebrates, terrestrial invertebrates and plant specimens held by the station.

We need to study it more.

· Miguel PintoPinto called for further research on the species.

Miguel Pinto, the station’s chief natural-history collections curator, said the octopus had returned “with a name and good news: It is an endemic species.” Marine collections manager Paulina Sepa said its return would support research into the Galápagos’ biodiversity. “There is so much more to discover, there are so many more questions,” she said. Pinto added that scientists need further study and more deep-sea exploration to find and understand the animals.

More exploration is also needed in the deep waters of the Galápagos to look for them and understand them a little more.

· Miguel PintoPinto said deep-sea exploration could help scientists learn more about the octopus.
About this summary

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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