SCIENCE LAB SCENICS : NZ'S ' THE SHARKTOPUS '

 

A hitchhiker with no thumbs, but eight arms : When she spotted the mako shark in the Hauraki Gulf off New Zealand, Rochelle Constantine, a marine ecologist at the University of Auckland, was concerned.

The animal had a curious orangey-brown mass perched on top of its head. '' At first, I was like, '' Is it a buoy? ' '' Dr. Constantaine said. '' ' Is it entangled in fishing gear or had a big bite? ' ''

Wednesday Davis, a technician, sent up a drone to get a closer look at the 10-foot [ three meter ] shark. As the boat sidled closer, her colleague Esther Stuck dangled a camera overboard to record some underwater footage.

'' We could see these tentacles moving,'' Dr. Constantine said.

Their eyes weren't deceiving them. An octopus was riding the shark. They nicknamed it Sharktopus.

The team identified the eight-armed commuter as a Maori Octopus. The hefty cephalopods can stretch up to 6.5 feet and weigh around 26 pounds [ 12 kilograms ]. Even riding a predator like the shark, a shortfin mako, this hitchhiker occupied a lot of room.

'' You can see it takes a fair amount of real estate on the shark's head,'' Dr. Constantine said of the encounter, which the researchers recorded during a field expedition to study marine life and birds in December 2023.

Tucking its arms into a tight ball, the stowaway looked as if it were to go unnoticed.

Although the shark might not have been able to see the crafty cephalopod, it was most likely aware of its passenger. Sharks have sensory organs called lateral lines all over their bodies to help them perceive the world around them.

Sharks and whales sometimes attract suckerfish, which cling on for protection and remove dead skin and parasites from the predator's body. Makos are known to leap above the water's surface.

Some researchers speculate that when they fling themselves out of the water, they are trying to dislodge these riders when they become irritating.

But the shark didn't seem bothered by its freeloader. '' The shark seemed quite happy, and the octopus seemed quite happy,'' Dr. Constantine said. '' It was a very calm scene.''

The World Students Society thanks Melissa Hobson.