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Source: New York Times
Shark-topus might sound like the name of a corny sci-fi flick: But it’s actually what many are calling a bizarre behavior captured by scientists of an octopus hitching a ride on a Mako shark.
Researchers from the University of Auckland used a drone camera to film the unlikely duo—a Maori octopus and mako shark—cruising through the ocean off New Zealand’s coast. It appears to be the first documented case of such a commensurate behavior between the two species.
“The shark seemed quite happy, and the octopus seemed quite happy,” Dr. Rochelle Constantine, the maritime ecologist who captured the footage, told NYTimes.com. “It was a very calm scene.”
The real mystery lies in how the unlikely duo met. Mako sharks swim up to 40 miles per hour in the open ocean, while Maori octopuses live on the sea floor. It’s unknown how long the shark-topus was together or if they remain connected by the fin and tentacle, erm, arm.
Either way, it’s one tenta-cool rider.
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