A new species of baby octopus has been discovered in the Galapagos Islands

Little blue Octopus Which lives in the deep sea off the coast Galapagos Islands So small that it can fit in the palm of the hand. As announced by a team of researchers in coordination with the Chicago Field Museum in New He studies It was just published in Zootaxa magazine, and now has an official name—Microleidon galabagensis.

The octopus was first spotted in 2015 during a deep-sea expedition on a research vessel E/V Nautilus. From there, marine biologists used a remotely operated underwater vehicle (RoV) to explore the ocean floor near Darwin Island, at the northern tip of the Galapagos Archipelago. As the RoV camera panned across the sea floor near an underwater cliff at a depth of 1,773 meters (5,817 feet), they noticed the tiny octopus with its vibrant blue color.

Through careful examination, the researchers were able to recover the blue octopus, photograph two more specimens, and then, at the end of the mission, conduct a comprehensive analysis. However, this left them confused, as they were not sure what type he belonged to. So they contacted Field Museum expert Janet Voigt and sent her a photo of the animal. “Immediately, I knew it was something really special.” He said Voigt, lead author of the new study. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” However, to determine whether the animal belonged to a new species required a complete analysis of all its body parts, and since the blue octopus was the only one of its kind ever collected, experts did not want to dissect it and thus lose such a valuable specimen.

To overcome this problem, the authors used X-ray computed tomography to create and assemble thousands of micro-CT scans, which then allowed them to create a 3D model of the blue octopus, both internally and externally. The researchers were able to observe the smallest details, from the tentacles (squat, with few suckers) to the smooth skin (almost devoid of pigment on the back) and even a specific funnel-shaped organ, thus obtaining the information necessary to classify it as a new species and place it among other cephalopods. “Because CT is non-destructive, it is especially important for type specimens like these.” He said Co-author Stephanie Smith. “Which is great for me, because people often bring me these extremely rare and amazingly beautiful specimens that I get the privilege of actually opening up about.”

In addition to describing new species, Blue Octopus reminds us how much we don’t yet know about the deep ocean, how important these expeditions and research are to better understanding these yet-to-be-explored ecosystems, and why it’s important to protect them.

“These are small deep-sea octopuses that hardly anyone on Earth gets to see. I feel lucky to be able to work with them,” Voigt said. “If you took all the land on Earth and put it together, it wouldn’t cover the Pacific Ocean. The oceans are so big, there’s still so much to explore.”

This story originally appeared on Wired Italy It was translated from Italian.