The round purple object on this bubblegum coral is a dumbo octopus egg.
Dumbo Octopus Egg
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin. Download larger version (jpg, 1.1 MB).

The round purple object on this bubblegum coral is a dumbo octopus egg. It was seen while exploring at a depth of ~1,630 meters (~5,350 feet) at the seamount dubbed "Kahalewai." We saw a similar egg on the Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific Marine Protected Areas expedition.

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