Krakenopod

Captain Serge Stone's Log, Commander of the research starjumper "Cognition-5"; Expedition to planet Kepler-213b (Zaraphon); Entry #29491205:
"...So, new details have emerged regarding the bottom life in the Equatorial Ocean. Alice (our AI) conducted detailed scanning of the seabed formations using deep-sea reconnaissance drones in search of valuable minerals. Apart from signs of natural gas deposits, manganese, and copper ores (see geological survey report from 29491205-01 to 29491205-45), the drone cameras captured a large marine creature at a depth of 200 meters. Our team was intrigued by this discovery and dedicated the better part of the day, due to the lack of more urgent tasks, to studying this deep-sea inhabitant.

We immediately noted a strong resemblance to Earth's cephalopods, though it may be purely superficial. Could it be a case of convergent evolution? The image clearly shows a body resembling a pot or a soft shell without a spiral twist, approximately 6.5 feet in length, covered in smooth pink skin. It is unknown if there is some form of skeleton inside or if it maintains its shape due to internal pressure. The image captures six pairs of appendages: one pair is covered with keratinous plates (possibly used for fragmenting food before consumption), three pairs are smooth and flexible, with some sort of suction cups, and two pairs are flattened with two projections at the end (presumably used as fins). The body of the creature has some leathery folds, presumably serving as steering fins. The end of the body features two flexible projections of unknown purpose (sensory organs? reproductive organs?).

At the front of the body, there is a thin straight projection with a thickened end. This thickened end has three pairs of worm-like antennae, three eyes, and a long flexible tentacle. There is strong evidence to suggest that the antennae and tentacle serve as sensory organs. The mouth of the creature was not visible in the photo, likely located at the bottom of the body, among the appendages. Upon discovery, the creature was moving northeast along the seabed at approximately 5 miles per hour, synchronously moving its appendages. When Alice directed the drone closer to inspect the creature from all sides, it tried to grasp the machine with its front tentacles. To avoid the risk of losing the equipment, Alice moved the drone away from the creature and continued the geological survey of the seabed.

At present, this creature is the largest (7.3 feet!) inhabitant of the planet that we have seen. Svyatoslav, our xenobiologist, speculated that the animal feeds on benthic detritivores and saprotrophs. He also suggested that the creature has red blood based on hemoglobin, which is peculiar since other animals on Zaraphon have more efficient hemolymph based on blue hemocyanin. It appears that we have encountered an endemic species of the northern part of the Equatorial Ocean, possibly a living fossil from earlier epochs. Svyat requested several drones for a detailed study of these creatures. I refused—drones have higher priority tasks, and our xenobiologist has enough terrestrial biota to study for the next year.

I suggested the team come up with an original name for the creature. Marie (our geochemist) proposed "Krakenopod," given its tentacles similar to the legendary kraken. The team supported the name by majority vote. I don't like it, but it promotes a cooperative atmosphere in the group. Reminder: tomorrow, assign Alice to explore the ocean trench to the southeast. Task: geological and tectonic survey. Maybe there we will find some unknown creature? After all, there is no more mysterious place on any planet than the depths of the ocean. We'll see."