'Sharktopus': Extremely rare sight shows octopus riding on shark's back
The sighting occurred in Dec. 2023 when researchers were working in the Hauraki Gulf of northern New Zealand.
Drone video shows octopus clinging to shark’s head
Drone video captured what was a curious sight for scientists, who saw an octopus clinging onto the head of a short-fin mako shark off the coast of New Zealand.
HAURAKI GULF, New Zealand – Scientists were treated to quite a curious sight when they saw an octopus clinging onto the head of a mako shark off the coast of New Zealand, University of Auckland officials recently announced.
The sighting occurred in Dec. 2023 when researchers were working in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island.
They noticed the dorsal fin of a large, short-fin mako shark with an orange patch on its head. This led the team to launch a drone to get a closer look at the animal.
Drone shot of the orange octopus atop the short-fin mako shark.
(Wednesday Davis and Esther Stuck / University of Auckland / FOX Weather)
In doing so, the researchers discovered that the orange patch was an octopus clinging onto the shark’s head with its tentacles.
The octopus-mako shark duo was a bit of an anomaly, as the two species typically inhabit different parts of the ocean.
"This `sharktopus’ was a mysterious find indeed – octopus are mostly on the seabed while short-fin mako sharks don’t favour the deep," university officials said.
Octopus hitching a ride on a short-fin mako shark.
(Wednesday Davis / University of Auckland)
They added that, as short-fin mako sharks are the fastest sharks on the planet – capable of swimming at speeds of over 30 mph – the one they spotted in Hauraki Gulf might’ve given the octopus quite the ride.