Incredible ROV Footage of a Red Balloon-Like Octopus

While exploring the waters of the Kingman Reef and the Palmyra Atoll in the Central Pacific, the ROV Hercules captured the image of a bright red balloon-like creature. The crew of the E/V Nautilus first thought it was a piglet squid but later learned the deep-sea animal was a diaphanous pelagic octopod (octopus).

Our control van was delighted to see this balloon-like creature (originally suspected to be a piglet squid, but confirmed to be a diaphanous pelagic octopod) float across the view while ROV Hercules explored the seafloor.