The "Dumbo" octopus belongs to a rare species of cephalopod.
An octopus with fins similar to a Disney cartoon character has been spotted in the north Pacific Ocean. The BBC said that the "Dumbo" octopus was seen in a broadcast on EVNautilus live stream, which is exploring the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM). It was filmed by a deep sea camera installed on a remotely-operated Ocean Exploration Trust vehicle. The outlet said that the rare octopus lives at depths of up to 7,000 metres. Often called the cutest octopuses in the world, they have fins that look like huge ears of 'Dumbo the Elephant'.
Nautilus Live Ocean Exploration Trust posted a video on YouTube that shows the cephalopod swimming around 2,665 metres deep above its remotely operated vehicle called Little Hercules.
As the octopus appears 24 seconds into the clip, the collective "wows" of the group can be heard. It is moving with its unique ear-like fins with arms connected by a web of skin that make them look like sea umbrella.
According to IFL Science, the mission was sent so deep into the sea to understand patterns of species distribution in the area along with its geology.
Nautilus Live website says that PMNM is the largest marine protected area in the United States.
The unique octopus was last seen in 2020 at a depth of 2.5 kilometres. However, the cephalopod has been spotted as far deep as 7 kilometres under the ocean floor, the outlet further said.
Last month, marine biologists had identified a vampire-like ancient squid that haunted Earth's oceans 165 million years ago.
The discovery was made by scientists in France, who used modern imaging technique to analyse the previously discovered fossils.