Scientists have confirmed a golf ball-sized blue octopus as a previously unknown species after examining a specimen collected from deep waters off the Galápagos Islands.
The animal, named Microeledone galapagensis, was first observed in 2015 during a deep-sea expedition aboard the E/V Nautilus near Darwin Island. Researchers from the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park Directorate used a remotely operated vehicle to spot the creature at a depth of about 5,800 feet. They collected one specimen and recorded video of two others of the same type.