White Octopus Discovered At Depths Of Nearly 10,000ft Is New Species

This is the moment the secret nursery of a new species of octopus is found nearly 10,000 feet below the Atlantic Ocean being guarded by their devoted mums.
Video footage of the nursery - recorded by a deep-sea submersible - shows the young molluscs being nursed on rocks on the ocean bed off the coast of Costa Rica.
As the mothers cling on with their tentacles wrapped around their eggs, they have their suckers facing outwards to protect their young.
In the middle of the brood, a male can be seen on guard flashing white and red, apparently in a warning to keep away.
Experts said of the footage: "We see a male octopus, flamboyantly presenting himself. Perhaps this is a territorial alert.
"Although octopus males have been known to display behaviors such as swimming in circles or flashing colors to attract potential mates, most of the females around here have already laid eggs and are not interested."
The amazing scenes emerged from a three week study in June by scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
The team were the first to witness members of the octopus brood actually hatching.
The octopus - as yet unnamed - is said to be a member of the Muusoctopus genus.
The images also show the scientists' research vessel, as well as an underwater robot, called ROV SuBastian which recorded the footage.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the institute saying: "A team of international scientists have discovered a new deep-sea octopus nursery at a low-temperature hydrothermal vent offshore of Costa Rica.
"The discovery of the brooding site brings the world’s known octopus nurseries to three.
"The team also proved that the first known aggregation of deep-sea octopus, the Dorado Outcrop, is an active nursery.
"Scientists believe the octopus is potentially a new species of Muusoctopus, a genus of small to medium sized octopus without an ink sac.
"Additionally, the expedition reinforced the idea that some species of deep-sea octopus seek out low-temperature hydrothermal vents for brooding their eggs."
The statement continued: "The 19-day Octopus Odyssey expedition led by Dr. Beth Orcutt of the U.S.-based Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Dr. Jorge Cortes of the University of Costa Rica aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor included 18 international scientists.
"The team was thrilled to confirm that the Dorado Outcrop is an active nursery.
"Scientists witnessed the Muusoctopus species hatch, disproving the idea that the area is inhospitable for developing octopus young.
"The Dorado Outcrop nursery was originally discovered in 2013 and astonished scientists, as it was the very first observation of female octopus gathering together to brood their eggs.
"No developing embryos were seen when the site was first explored, leading scientists to believe conditions at the Dorado Outcrop might not support octopus growth."
The experts also said that five never-before-seen underwater mountains in the northwestern corner of Costa Rica’s waters were also explored.
Scientists say they contained a thriving population of hundreds of species, many of which are suspected to be new.
Schmidt Ocean Institute Executive Director, Dr. Jyotika Virmani said: "The discovery of a new active octopus nursery over 2,800 meters beneath the sea surface in Costa Rican waters proves there is still so much to learn about our Ocean."
She added: "The deep-sea off Costa Rica rides the edge of human imagination, with spectacular footage collected by ROV SuBastian of tripod fish, octopus hatchlings, and coral gardens.
"We look forward to continuing to help the world witness and study the wonders of our incredible Ocean."
The experts said that the sea mountains, including the Dorado Outcrop, are not currently protected from human activities including fishing.
Half of the team was made up of Costa Rican scientists, the statement said, with many of them working to determine if the underwater mountains should be protected.
Cortes said: "This expedition to the Pacific deep waters of Costa Rica has been a superb opportunity for us to get to know our own country."
He added: "The expedition had a significant number of local scientists and students which will accelerate our capacity to study deep regions.
"The information, samples, and images are important to Costa Rica to show its richness and will be used for scientific studies, and outreach to raise awareness of what we have and why we should protect it."