Scientists exploring the sea floor off the coast of central California found more than 1,000 octopuses tucked between rocks with their tentacles inverted and covering clusters of white eggs —a pose common among brooding females.
Ocean Exploration Trust biologists made the discovery last week nearly 2 miles (3 kilometers) below the surface off the coast of Monterey.
The cluster of octopuses glowing in the dark was captured on Oct. 23 by a submersible's camera during the first dive of the Nautilus, a vessel exploring the Davidson Seamount in NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Researchers say this kind of aggregation of deep-sea octopuses has been reported only once before, when a smaller group of about 100 were spotted brooding eggs in the ocean off Costa Rica.
Associated Press
