A pea-sized baby octopus has caught a ride to Hawaii on a piece of ocean trash.
Researchers from Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park were monitoring coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean when they spied the tiny cephalopod among some floating plastic debris.
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They scooped it up and placed it in a plastic tub of water, where they took some very cute photos of the octopus.
One of the marine biologists put their finger in the tub to illustrate just how miniscule the creature is - too small to be able to reach its eight arms around the human finger.
A second tiny octopus was also found among the debris, but this one was arguably less cute as it was discovered squeezing a baby crab to death.
The infants are believed to be either day octopuses (Octopus cyanea) or night octopuses (Callistoctopus ornatus), according to the Associated Press.
Fully-grown day octopuses can be up to 80cm long, while night octopuses can have an arm span of 2m.
However the babies could also belong to the 'round spot' or 'crescent spot' species, which only grow to the size of a golf ball.
After the photoshoot, the octopuses were released back into a "small protected space". As one of them swam away it bid its rescuers farewell with a small squirt of ink, the Associated Press reports.
Newshub.
