Overview
- Researchers formally named Microeledone galapagensis in a Zootaxa paper published in May 2026 after examining a preserved specimen collected in 2015 near Darwin Island.
- The specimen was recovered by an ROV at about 1,773 meters depth and ROV video also recorded at least two visually similar individuals on the same seamount.
- Because only one specimen was available, the Field Museum team used high-resolution micro-computed tomography to image internal anatomy without dissecting the animal.
- The octopus is roughly the size of a golf ball, light blue on top and deep purple underneath, with short arms bearing a single row of suckers, traits that helped distinguish it from known species.
- Authors report affinities with the largely Antarctic Megaleledonidae family and stress that the find, enabled by legal collaboration between Galápagos authorities and museums, underscores gaps in deep-sea knowledge with implications for research and conservation.