Marine biologists have captured extraordinary footage of a rare Dumbo octopus nearly 2.4 miles beneath the ocean surface. The pink creature, resembling Disney's Dumbo, was recorded flapping its ear-shaped fins during an expedition to the Mar del Plata submarine canyon in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The sighting, which occurred on 5 August, is believed to be the first recorded instance of a Dumbo octopus in Argentine waters. The expedition is led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in collaboration with Argentina's CONICET and the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development.
Dumbo octopuses, belonging to the genus Grimpoteuthis, are the deepest-living octopuses known, thriving at depths of 1,000 to 7,000 metres. Unlike most octopuses, they have a jelly-like body and move by beating their fins rather than jet propulsion.
Just days earlier, on 26 July, the same expedition filmed a starfish with a crease between its arms, drawing comparisons to Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants. Kristen Kusek of the Schmidt Ocean Institute explained that the appearance is due to normal seawater circulation in the starfish's body.
The Dumbo octopus typically grows to 20–30 centimetres, though the largest recorded specimen reached 1.8 metres and weighed 5.9 kg. In 2020, one was filmed at nearly 7,000 metres deep in the Java Trench, suggesting they may inhabit the hadal zone.
