Rare ‘Sharktopus’ – an octopus riding a shark – sighting caught on camera shared by scientists

What happens when an octopus jumps on a shark for a ride around town? 

A "sharktopus," of course.

The rare sighting, captured on video off the coast of New Zealand and shared by scientists affiliated with the University of Auckland, shows a Maori octopus riding on top of a mako shark, which is the fastest in the world with the ability to swim up to 46 mph. 

The university said the December 2023 encounter "was one of the strangest things University of Auckland marine scientists had ever seen. It was a mysterious sight indeed… octopus are mostly on the seabed while short-fin mako sharks don’t [favor] the deep."

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A rare sighting captured off the coast of New Zealand and shared by scientists affiliated with the University of Auckland shows a Maori octopus riding on top of a mako shark, which is the fastest in the world with the ability to swim up to 46 mph.  (University of Auckland)

The university researchers had been looking for shark feeding frenzies in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island when a mako shark with an "orange patch" on its head was discovered. 

The researchers launched a drone and put a GoPro camera in the water and "saw something unforgettable: an octopus perched atop the shark’s head, clinging on with its tentacles," University of Auckland Professor Rochelle Constantine wrote in a piece for the university last week. 

The researchers launched a drone and put a GoPro  camera in the water and "saw something unforgettable: an octopus perched atop the shark’s head, clinging on with its tentacles," University of Auckland Professor Rochelle Constantine wrote in a piece for the university last week.  (University of Auckland)

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Constantine added that the researchers moved on after 10 minutes, so they weren’t sure what happened to the "sharktopus" next, but the "octopus may have been in for quite the experience, since the world’s fastest shark species can reach [30 mph]."

"At first, I was like, ‘Is it a buoy?’" Constantine told The New York Times this week. "‘Is it entangled in fishing gear or had a big bite?’"

Researchers said the octopus was in for "quite the experience" with the world's fastest shark. (University of Auckland)

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She pointed out, "You can see it takes a fair amount of real estate on the shark’s head," noting that neither animal seemed bothered by the encounter. 

"The shark seemed quite happy, and the octopus seemed quite happy. It was a very calm scene," she said.