Glass octopus: Rare footage of sea creature caught by scientists

The transparent octopus

Scientists researching the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean have captured images of an octopus that looks like it's made of glass!

The octopus has transparent skin and sightings of it are very rare.

Over 34 days, researchers managed to get two sightings of the glass octopus deep down in the ocean, near the remote Phoenix Islands.

The octopus' transparent skin means that it only has a few visible features - it's eyeballs, optic nerve and digestive system are pretty much all you can see.

The octopus' scientific name is Vitreledonella richardi, and scientists have known about it for over 100 years. However, due to the lack of live footage it has been hard to study.

Researchers have been forced to study the animal by looking at specimens found in the stomach of predators.

It's hoped by the researchers that this footage will bring more understanding of the creature.

A team of scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, explored 30,000 square kilometres of the seafloor.

The team went on a total of 21 deep-sea dives and saw lots of interesting things. And, the glass octopus wasn't the only rare sight the team caught on camera either!

This is a whale shark that was found in Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean

SuBastian, the teams underwater robot, managed to get footage of a rare whale shark too.

This particular whale shark is said to grow up to 40 feet long - that's about the same length as four giraffes!

The team also witnessed some sneaky behaviour from crabs, they shot footage of them stealing fish from one another.

The Schmidt Ocean Institute, who launched the research mission, says that there's so much more to discover in the sea.

Wendy Schmidt, co-founder, said: "Expeditions like these teach us why we need to increase our efforts to restore and better understand marine ecosystems everywhere - because the great chain of life that begins in the ocean is critical for human health and wellbeing."

What do you think about the glass octopus - pretty cool right? Let us know in the comments below!