Ghostly octopus Dumbo spotted off the coast of Hawaii (6 photos + 1 video)

Scientists using the Hercules research apparatus discovered a rare octopus at a depth of 1682 m. Sea creatures of the genus Grimpoteuthis have a pretty appearance.





"Wow!" - said one of the researchers, while another joked that the octopus flaps its ears.

The octopus got its name due to its resemblance to baby elephant Dumbo from the 1941 Disney cartoon. Rounded fins the sea creature actually resembles ears.

Many commenters on social media thought the animal was more cute than creepy.

"I could look at this octopus all day, what a beautiful creature," one wrote.



The individual in the footage reaches 60 cm and is quite large, since the usual length of this species is 20-30 cm.

The largest known Dumbo reached 180 cm in length and weighed almost kg!





Grimpoteuthys lives at depths from 100 to 7000 m, it adapted to the extreme conditions of life on the ocean floor. Using their strong fins and eight webbed limbs, these amazing creatures feed on snails and worms they find at the bottom of the ocean.

Dumbos can breed year-round. Probably meetings partners occur infrequently, so females keep eggs on different stages of maturation to be ready to mate and lay eggs when the first opportunity.



The maximum depth at which it was possible to photograph octopus, was 7000 m, almost at the very bottom of the Sunda Trench in eastern Indian Ocean.



Dumbo belongs to a family of 17 species of octopus, but not all species may be known yet.

Just last year, German scientists, with the help Magnetic resonance imaging and DNA analysis have discovered a new species Dumbo the octopus.