HONOLULU (KHON) – A recent deep-sea dive off the coast of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands brought scientists face-to-face with a rare ocean creature.
A “Dumbo octopus” was spotted about a mile below the ocean’s surface, on an unnamed seamount.
The site was in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Dumbo octopuses are typically seen in deep waters of the central Pacific, according to scientists. They propel themselves using those large ear-shaped fins to find food.
The Exploration Vessel Nautilus took the video showing the rare creature as it drifts and floats through the ocean’s waters.
The crew of the EV Nautilus said they had been able to view five of these amazing creatures in a single night.
“Each time, you’re kind of just roaming around with the ROV,” explained Jaina Galves, video engineer intern. “Somebody’s like, wait, what is that in the corner, and then everybody’s starts to gasp, everybody starts to freak out. And everybody’s like Dumbo octopus! So we take the ROV over, we go, and we follow them. They move very slowly and very gracefully, so we get to follow them for quite a while.”
Galves went on to explain further.
“It depends what we’re doing and how long we can hang out,” added Galves, “But for one of them, we just got to stay for quite a while. Just watched it kind of glide through the water, and it was beautiful.”
The scientists were part of an expedition funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.