“The Octopods are for the most part benthic or bentho-pelagic, living in holes or crevices, beneath large rocks or in caves… ” This has been the dogma of octopus habitat use for decades because observations have been limited to areas of the oceans where octopuses could be easily found: shallow, near-shore and typically rocky, habitats. But what of the majority of the ocean floor, where the bottom is characterized by muddy and sandy sediments, is there a place for octopuses here? The answer is "yes". Today’s technology enables us to see the ocean floor almost everywhere with high-resolution still photography and ROV-mounted video cameras. Images from the Polarstern’s first deployment of the photosled show octopuses burrowed in fine sediment, as seen in the attached image. Waters around Antarctica are rich in octopuses, reflected not only in their high abundance but also their high diversity. Now we have evidence as to why they have been able to become so diverse in an area that generally is considered to exclude octopuses.

Text: Elaina Jorgensen
Photograph: Jan Seiler & Julian Gutt