Ghostly Dumbo Octopus Makes Rare Appearance in Dazzling Deep-Sea Video

The Dumbo Octopus is one of the rarest species of Octopus so researchers aboard the research ship E/V Nautilus were more than delighted when this one appeared from out of the darkness to perform for the vessel's Hercules ROV at a depth of nearly 2 miles down in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary off the coast off California.

The incredible video captured of the seemingly friendly, little eight-legged ghost elicited squeals of delight and wonder from the team behind the camera on the E/V Nautilus, who immediately identified the animal as a rare dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis sp.).

"Oh, and the world loves a dumbo," one of the team members said Oct. 23 when the video was captured.

The enchanting creature calmly flapped its two large fins as it cruised slowly through the dark. After a few seconds, the octopus opened up its tentacles in an elegant display, revealing its umbrella of legs with eight rows of suckers.
"Yeah, he's a show-off," one team member said. "You're going to be famous," said another. Both were true statements, of course, because who can resist such a charming cephalopod?

The gentle dumbo octopus, also known as an umbrella octopus, is named for its ear-like fins that resemble the Disney character Dumbo's oversize elephant ears. There are 13 species of dumbo octopuses, and most of them live at depths of below 9,800 feet (3,000 meters). They're one of the rarest species of octopus, so catching a glimpse like this is pretty extraordinary.

The team used scaling lasers on the ROV to estimate that this particular deep-sea ghost was just under 2 feet (60 centimeters) long, which is a little larger than most dumbo octopuses.
www.livescience.com...

What a cool creature.

a reply to: gortex
Nice one for posting
It amazes me how life can thrive at 2 miles deep, never mind the thermal vents.

Nice video the deep sea is almost like an aliens planet. One thing that made me laugh if you skip to 1:11 one of the observers does and Owen Wilson 'wow' impression

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Like most people , I guess , I've never heard of a Dumbo Octopus before but after watching the video and reading up on them I thought the little chap just needed a thread on ATS as he's just so cool.

It's also a reminder for me of the sheer diversity and wealth of creatures that we share our home with , many of whom remain undiscovered.

Other life in the Galaxy ? , you bet.

a reply to: gortex

Ah, the wonders of the deep. Wonderful! Thank you!

Bloody majestic thread title you’ve got there.

And yes, an equally cool creature.

Reminds me of a Pac-Man ghost. (Why did autocorrect just make Pacman Pac-Man?)

Exceptionally cool creature and he put on quite a show. Sounds like they have a cool crew and great teamwork too. And, yeah, I'm with and! 4263: Compelling and lyrical thread titling.

he is a cute little critter, isn't he?
we should have a thread, just for all the neat less known critters we share the planet with.
like this little guy.

a reply to: gortex

Fascinating, i'm scared of opctopi however i've seen videos of the mimic octopus and it's amazing, however other species of octotpi? I'd give them a underwater round house, yet I would cuddle a cuttlefish. I might be terrified by water but i'd rather swim with a nurse shark than swim with an octopus.

Great find!




Good timing, October 8th was National Octopus Day.

Mmmmmm.... tako.







Oh come on. Somebody had to say it.

a reply to: gortex

Cool! Just in time for Halloween

originally posted by: dreamingawake
Great find!

Good timing, October 8th was National Octopus Day.

Pikatchu & Squidward

originally posted by: Phage
Mmmmmm.... tako.

Oh come on. Somebody had to say it.

No Phage...just no.


LOL