The glass octopus, scientifically known as Vitreledonella richardi
Found in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide, the glass octopus inhabits mesopelagic to bathypelagic zones of the ocean, typically at depths where sunlight penetration is minimal. Due to its deep-sea habitat, encounters with this species in the wild are very rare.
Glass octopus live in the open ocean and can reach a total length of 45cm. These unusual animals get their name from their translucent bodies, which are almost entirely clear, like glass.
“It gets its name from its ability to be almost completely transparent. In part of this clip, its chromatophores (cells that produce colour for camouflage, seen here as yellow dots) can be seen,” says Schmidt Ocean Institute. "The only aspects of that are not clear are optic nerve, eyeballs and digestive tract.”
The species has distinctive rectangular eyes when viewed laterally. This cylindrical design, with a centered lens, limits horizontal vision but minimisew the eye’s silhouette when viewed from below, aiding in camouflage. Indeed, as can be verified from this video, when viewed from directly above, the glass octopus almost disappears from view altogether.
