The data and footage collected during these trips will help experts fill in the gaps towards understanding the planet’s hardest-to-reach ecosystems. To celebrate the past 12 months of discoveries, MBARI released a video highlighting some of 2025’s most stunning, strange, and mysterious creature sightings. We invite everyone to join us on a journey of exploration, science, and stewardship.”Although it doesn’t make an appearance in the highlight video, MBARI showcased another remarkable species earlier this month. During a recent expedition into Monterey Bay, oceanographers spotted an extremely rare seven-armed octopus (Haliphron atlanticus). The run-in marked MBARI’s fourth encounter with the species in the organization’s nearly 40 years of existence.