Ghostly dumbo octopus spotted during deep sea exploration
(Gray News) – Just in time for the upcoming Halloween season, scientists off the coast of Hawaii had a ghostly encounter with a rare deep sea creature.
During the Ala ‘Aumoana Kai Uli expedition, researchers set out to gather data needed to address the local management and science needs of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
While on their venture, the researchers came across a dumbo octopus that reflected the light of the team’s technology to give it a ghost-like appearance.
The cephalopod was discovered hovering above a remotely operated vehicle owned by the Ocean Exploration Trust used on the expedition as the vehicle explored the ocean floor about 5,518 feet, or 920 fathoms, deep near the national monument.
The creature hovered directly in front of another ROV’s camera, giving researchers the perfect opportunity to capture images and video of it.
More information on the expedition funded by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration can be found here.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. TMX contributed to this report
