Octopus hitches ride on shark's back in remarkable footage that is ‘a reminder of the wonders of the ocean': ‘Sharktopus'
Forget 'sharknado' — this footage shows a new feat of nature.
Researchers from the University of Aukland got a chance sighting of an octopus hitching a ride on the back of a shark, which they have dubbed 'sharktopus.'
The team was off the Northern coast of New Zealand in the Hauraki Gulf in 2023 when they spotted a shortfin mako shark with an orange blob attached to its back.
Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a Maori octopus when they spotted its tentacles moving.
'At first, I was like: 'Is it a buoy?'' marine scientist Rochelle Constantine told the New York Times. ''Is it entangled in fishing gear or had a big bite?''
The phenomenon was particularly remarkable because of the nature of both creatures. Octopuses usually are on the ocean floor, where shortfin mako sharks typically do not go.
'It makes no sense that these two animals should be at the same place and time to encounter each other,' Constantine said, adding that both marine animals seemed 'quite happy.'
'We have no idea how they found each other.'
While the researchers only stayed to watch the aquatic animals for 10 minutes, Constantine mused that the octopus was in for the ride of its life.
'The octopus may have been in for quite the experience, though, since the world's fastest shark species can reach 50 kilometers per hour,' she told Oceanographic.
But, according to the outlet, octopuses can travel at a maximum of 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, per hour.
'The 'sharktopus' encounter is a reminder of the wonders of the ocean,' Constantine continued.
'One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea. By supporting conservation initiatives, we can help to ensure that such extraordinary moments keep happening.'
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On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. How does xenon work in the body? Xenon is a noble gas—colorless, odorless, inert. But it does affect the body. It's been used as an anesthetic on occasion since the 1950s, says Robert Dickinson, a senior lecturer in medicine at Imperial College London. Dickinson has long studied another intriguing aspect of xenon: the gas has shown neuroprotective effects after a brain injury such as a stroke or a traumatic blow to the head. This protective quality has been demonstrated in many animal studies and a handful of small human trials, Dickinson says. Both the anesthetic and potential neuroprotective effects occur because xenon can bind to brain receptors called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Activating these receptors has an excitatory effect on neurons, but xenon tamps down NMDA activity. After a brain injury, NMDA receptors can become overexcited, causing further cell death, so quieting these receptors might prevent additional damage. Those are xenon's best-studied effects on human health. But the gas has also piqued interest in the sports medicine world because it can increase the production of erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that is known to stimulate the bone marrow to increase its production of red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen, which is, of course, in short supply on the icy slopes of Mount Everest. Can xenon really acclimate someone to high elevations? Before attempting Everest's summit, climbers must hang out in Kathmandu, Nepal, and then Everest Base Camp for weeks, lest they fall prey to altitude sickness, which is marked by fatigue, headache, nausea and confusion. In serious cases, the lungs fill with fluid or the brain swells, which can quickly lead to death. The air at Everest Base Camp contains about half the oxygen as is present at sea level, and the air at the summit contains a mere 33 percent. Xenon's potential to increase the production of red blood cells, thus increasing the blood's ability carry oxygen, raises the question of whether it might provide a performance boost or prevent altitude sickness in the athletes climbing the world's highest peaks. The problem is: no one really knows if the EPO boost provided by xenon is enough to make a real difference in how someone handles a high elevation. Davide Cattano, an anesthesiologist at the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, did some of the animal research that has shown that xenon increases a blood factor called hypoxia-inducible factor 1–alpha (HIF-1α), which in turn can increase EPO. 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