The rare blue octopus has returned to the Galapagos Islands after being officially recognized as a new species. The specimen, the size of a golf ball, will be preserved at the Charles Darwin Research Station, which houses a vast collection of species from the extraordinary biodiversity of the Ecuadorian archipelago.
An expedition collected the first specimen of this species in 2015, at more than 1,700 meters depth in the north of the archipelago. Only three specimens have been observed to date, but the other two were only recorded on video.
The octopus, already dead when collected, was taken in 2022 to the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, United States, for studies and confirmation that it was a new species. After confirmation, it was determined that the specimen should be returned to Ecuador.
The new species was named Galapagos blue octopus (Microeledone galapagosensis), a name that references both its coloration and the location where it was discovered. The Galapagos archipelago is world-renowned for its endemic flora and fauna, and the discovery of this new species reinforces the scientific importance of the region.
