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investigator explore an underwater good deal in Hawaii ’s deep ocean recently stumbled across a rare , " ghostly " dumbo octopus — one of the deep dwellingoctopuseson Earth — flapping its big ear - same fin as it swim near the seafloor , a new television reveals .
The unidentified species of dumbo octopus , from the genusGrimpoteuthis , was spot Sept. 13 by researchers aboard Ocean Exploration Trust ’s ( OET ) Exploration Vessel " Nautilus . " The squad was exploring a seamount in the N of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument ( PMNM ) — one of the world ’s large shipboard soldier protected areas — using a remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) at a astuteness of around 5,500 feet ( 1,675 meters ) when they come across the pale bloodless cephalopod , researchers wrote in astatement .
This video footage captured Sept. 13 by an ROV shows a dumbo octopus swimming with its ear-like fins in Hawaii’s deep sea.
Video footagefrom the dive , which was live - streamed online , shows the dumbo octopus tardily push itself through the water with its ear - like cinque just a few feet above the seafloor . This strange form of locomotion strongly resembles the flight elephant Dumbo , from the classical Disney film , which inspired these octopus ' name .
" Oh , bet at the flappy ear ! " one research worker exclaimed during a comment of the live feed . " I ’m so happy we bring forth to see this beautiful creature , " another add together , " I ’ve never image one before . "
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There are 15 mintage of dumbo octopus in the genusGrimpoteuthis , which is the deepest - dwelling house cognise radical of octopuses — most of which live deeper than 13,100 feet ( 4,000 m ) , according to the sea conservation nonprofitOceana . These creatures drop most of their life-time hovering around the ocean floor in hunting of their quarry .
The dumbo devilfish ' style of swimming is quite dissimilar to most other cephalopods , which use a funnel - like organ called a siphon to move by shooting out jets of water supply . This group also take issue by take web arms and the female person ’s being able to put in sperm to fertilize their ballock at a later date , accord to Oceana . Because it rarely chance predators , dumbo octopuses do not have any ink pocket and have a reducedcamouflage ability .
The largest dumbo octopus ever witness measured a whopping 5.9 foundation ( 1.8 m ) long , according to Oceana . But most somebody are between 8 to 12 inches ( 20 to 30 centimeters ) long . It is unclear how large the octopus in the fresh video is .
The dumbo octopus hovers just above the seafloor as the researchers first encounter it.
Because of their mystifying sea home ground , dumbo octopuses are seldom see in the wild and most of what we know about them come from ROV sighting and individuals that get dragged up to the control surface in fishing nets .
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The dumbo octopus swims past the ROV camera.(Image credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA/Nautilus Live)
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In 2020 , scientists spotted a dumbo octopus at a depth of around 22,800 feet ( 6,950 m ) in the Java Trench — the deepest part of the Indian Ocean . Another Nautilus expeditionfilmed a dumbo near Monterey Canyon , off the California slide in 2018 . That same year , a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) hostile expedition captivate thefirst video of a dumbo hatchlingin the mid - Atlantic .
In 2021 , researchersnamed a stigma new species of dumbo octopus , the emperor butterfly dumbo ( Grimpteuthis imperator ) , which was see near a seamount in the Pacific Ocean .
The octopus shows off it’s Dumbo-like fins.(Image credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA/Nautilus Live)
Researchers were surprised at how white the dumbo octopus was.(Image credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA/Nautilus Live)
The octopus swims away from the ROV.(Image credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA/Nautilus Live)
