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On March 5, a video shared on YouTube by University of Auckland showed a ‘sharktopus’ in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island.
Scientists are wondering what could have led to this encounter. (Photo Credits: YouTube)
The oceans continue to surprise humans in 2025 with unusual incidents that are the first of their kind. Following last month’s appearance of the deep sea creature in shallow waters, a new strange visual of a ‘sharktopus’ has taken scientists by surprise.
On March 5, a video shared on YouTube by University of Auckland showed a ‘sharktopus’ in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island. The 37-second video featured an octopus riding on a shark, which came as a surprise to many researchers as both creatures dwell on different parts of the oceans. While octopus are mostly on the seabed, short-fin mako sharks don’t favour the deep, the University said in the video description.
“The encounter was in December 2023,” it added.
The footage captured by Wednesday Davis and Esther Stuck showed the shark gliding through the vibrant blue water, with the orange-hued Maori octopus clinging to its back. The captured shark was identified as a large shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), regarded as one of the fastest sharks in the world. It can reach up to 50 km per hour and was spotted in the Hauraki Gulf, located off the northern coast of New Zealand’s North Island.
Scientists are now wondering what could have led to this encounter between the two creatures.
The footage was captured when scientists, on an ocean tour, spotted a shark being accompanied by something, which they initially thought was a fish, Rochelle Constantin, marine ecologist at the University of Auckland told the New York Times. They quickly set up a drone to get a closer look and were surprised to discover the octopus clinging to its back.
Maori octopus is known to be an extremely fierce predator and is known to linger in ocean depths ranging – 0 to 549 metres.
In February, a scary-looking creature went viral overnight after it was spotted close to the surface of Tenerife, a Spanish island. Scientists were surprised to see a live adult black seadevil anglerfish roaming in shallow waters, which is an unknown territory for it. The creature lives at an ocean depth where even light of the sun cannot penetrate and the environment is subjected to extreme pressure.
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