Swarm of 1,000 octopuses found at the bottom of the ocean

Scientists exploring the waters near Monterey, California, have sighted over 1,000 octopus at the bottom of the ocean – the largest octopus nursery ever discovered National Geographic.

The incredible images were captured last week by the Nautilus Exploration vessel, which surveys the largely unmapped seabed of Davidson Seamount, an underwater mountain habitat located about 80 miles southwest of Monterey.

"We went down the east side of this little hill, and that's when – boom – we're just starting to see dozens of dozens here, dozens, everywhere, by the dozens," said Chad King, the science scientist. chief of the expedition. National Geographic Monday.

A remote controlled submarine vehicle capturing a sequence of the octopus nursery. Image: EVNautilus

Few attended such a show. The footage was shot 10,000 feet below the surface of the ocean and shows hundreds of Muusoctopus robustus, small octopuses deep and without ink, in brooding positions: in almost total darkness, inverted arms, incubating eggs that have been cemented to form rocks at the bottom of the sea.

Most were women and "nearly 99% were brooding," said King.

The team also spotted developing embryos in the case of eggs.

Female octopuses seen in brooding position on their eggs. Image: EVNautilus

Scientists have never documented a group of Muusoctopus on the west coast before, KQED reported Friday. The images from the team show the second time that a Muusoctopus nursery was seen – the first being a group of 100 people spotted near Costa Rica in April, although no embryos were recorded at that time.

"In my career, I've never come across anything like this, where it could be acting as a nursery habitat and another extremely important reason why we need to protect this area," he said. King to KQED.

Around the bunch, a strange "oasis" of scintillating water, probably indicating warm water, made King wonder if the females had been looking for higher temperatures. Other factors, such as more oxygenated water or certain concentrations of minerals, may also have influenced their decision to lay their eggs. (There have been anecdotal reports of octopuses climbing on fishing ropes, perhaps to escape from water containing little oxygen.)

King said that a technical malfunction of their submersible prevented them from returning to the daycare.

Davidson Seamount, known as "an oasis in the depths", is home to various forms of marine life, such as corals, sponges, deep-sea fish and shrimp. Protected by the federal government under the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, it is one of the largest known seamounts in US waters.