Photo: Wednesday Davis / University of Auckland
While aboard a University of Auckland vessel off the coast of Kawau Island, in New Zealand, Rochelle Constantine noticed something unusual clutching onto a mako shark’s head. There were several things the orange clump could’ve been; a mass, the marine ecologist thought, or perhaps a deep gash. Maybe it was even a buoy, or a tangled fishing net? She didn’t consider the possibility of it being a Maori octopus hitching a ride.
Her colleague Wednesday David, a technician, sent a drone to investigate from above, while another colleague, Esther Stuck, dangled a GoPro overboard to film the shark from below. The University of Auckland recently published this remarkable footage, showcasing what, at first glance, seems like a comical scene. The shark gracefully snakes through the water, with a large, metallic dorsal fin poking out from the waves. Upon closer inspection, the orange octopus becomes visible, its tentacles clinging onto the shark as its bulbous head bounces along the current.
“This ‘sharktopus’ was a mysterious find indeed,” Constantine writes in an article about the experience. “Octopus are mostly on the seabed while short-fin mako sharks don’t favor the deep.”
For The New York Times, she added, “It makes no sense that these two animals should be at the same place and time to encounter each other. We have no idea how they found each other.”
Though this mako shark clocked in at 10 feet long, the Maori octopus is equally hefty. The cephalopod can grow up to 6.5 feet and weigh around 26 pounds, rendering them the largest octopus in the Southern Hemisphere.
“You can see [the octopus] takes a fair amount of real estate on the shark’s head,” Constantine said.
Like other members of its species, the mako shark has lateral lines across its body, allowing it to sense its surroundings with sensitivity. Even as the octopus curled itself into a tight ball, perhaps in an attempt to avoid detection, the shark was most likely aware of its presence. Still, the shark seemed completely at ease with its stowaway friend.
“The shark seemed quite happy, and the octopus seemed quite happy,” Constantine marveled.
What happened next is harder to know. Constantine and her team moved on after 10 minutes, but in her article she muses that the “octopus may have been in for quite the experience,” given that the “world’s fastest shark species can reach 50 kph” (about 31 mph). She also underscores the rarity of the “sharktopus” moment, which served as a poignant “reminder of the wonders of the ocean.”
“One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea,” Constantine concludes. “By supporting conservation initiatives, we can help to ensure that such extraordinary moments keep happening.”
A research team in New Zealand discovered a “sharktopus,” that is, a Maori octopus hitching a ride on a short-fin mako shark.
A shortfin mako shark. (Photo: Mark Conlin/SWFSC Large Pelagics Program, Public domain)
Remarkable footage shows the octopus clinging onto the shark’s head, both species appearing to be at ease.
Sources: Sharks… even more amazing than you realised; This Octopus’s Other Car Is a Shark
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