Omg, it's the best day of the week! Welcome to
Wildcard Wednesday!
Today's awe-inspiring wildling is: Microeledone galapagensis!
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How adorable is that?
This tiny creature is new to science, and was only described in a Zootaxa paper published 25 May 2026. It doesn't seem to have a common name yet, but I've been calling it the Galapagos tiny blue in my head :)
I am not very good at reading the paper I linked, because I'm not entirely sure what their measurements mean, but you're welcome to have a look and let me know how big this actually is! According to a couple of photos with a preserved specimen beside a ruler, I reckon it's about 7 cm long from the top of its head to the tip of a short tentacle (rough estimate!) and the diameter of its head is about 3 cm. I'm not copying the actual images here in case people don't want to see a preserved specimen, but you can check it out in this article!
The little blue octopus was actually first spotted in 2015 near Isla Darwin, when the ROV Hercules (launched from the E/V Nautilus) was exploring an underwater mountain 1773 metres below the surface. The ROV took one specimen, a female, which was sent to an octopus expert Janet Voight. Since there was only one specimen, the researchers decided to do something rather different! Instead of cutting open their specimen to examine its internal workings (necessary for correctly identifying octopus species), they used CT scans instead.
This tiny octopus was found on the deep seafloor off of the Galápagos Islands and left scientists awe-struck. The teensy blue octopus is an
On the outside, the octopus is already super interesting. Not only is it blue (the rarest colour in nature), it's also surprisingly smooth-skinned for an octopus! It's kind of squat and has really short arms with only one row of suckers, which isn't much for an octopus. It also doesn't have an ink sac, and it has one really big central tooth.
On its colouration: I've been saying it's blue, because it looks like it, but actually this octopus shows a really fascinating trait called reverse countershading. (I know, so many negatives!) Its back is actually pale and pigment-free, but the inside of its mantle is a deep purple. This countershading is thought to be a form of defence: there are a lot of bioluminescent things down in the deeps, and if the octopus goes after prey that starts to glow, other predators might be attracted to the light and eat the octopus. If the octopus can smother that light with its deep purple mantle, then it lessens the chances of it being eaten by some bigger baddie. Fascinating stuff!
Image source
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!


















