Somehow, a large orange octopus has been riding a mako shark off the coast of New Zealand. Researchers are mystified.

The octopus in question was no lightweight. It was a Māori octopus, the largest octopus species in the Southern Hemisphere.

An octopus hitched a ride on the back of a mako shark in extraordinary nature footage released by the University of Auckland.

A shortfin mako shark, the fastest-swimming shark in the world, was caught on camera with an octopus catching a ride on its back off the coast of New Zealand.

A recent sighting in New Zealand showed that the sea is full of surprises. While on a research trip, marine scientists observed an octopus attached to the head of a shortfin mako shark.

Researchers in New Zealand saw a colorful blob on top of a shark’s head. When they looked closer, they realized it had eight ...

About 30 countries back the three proposals concerning species of mako shark and a range of critically endangered ray species in the guitarfish and wedgefish families Sharks have stalked the ...

The mako shark she saw swimming near the surface wasn’t unusual on its own—but the giant orange patch on its head was. “At first, I was like, ‘Is it a buoy?’” says Constantine to ...

"A large metallic grey dorsal fin signalled a big shark, a short-fin mako," Constantine wrote in the piece published March 11. "But wait, what was that orange patch on its head? A buoy? An injury?

The team was off the Northern coast of New Zealand in the Hauraki Gulf in 2023 when they spotted a shortfin mako shark with an orange blob attached to its back. “The ‘sharktopus’ encounter ...

That was the case when a team from the University of Auckland in New Zealand noticed a 10-foot-long shortfin mako shark adorned with an unexpected passenger. “What was that orange patch on its head?