About 91% of the ocean life is yet to be classified. As a result, sea creatures like the "mystery mollusk" are just being understood, many years after their initial discovery. Many people haven't even heard of the Narwhal, a real sea "unicorn" and the "alien life" existing deep underwater.
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But that just makes footage of these creatures extra special, like a giant squid carrying 3,000 eggs, for instance. Unfortunately, there are marine animals that are just out of our reach, like the cutest dumbo octopus.
There have been rare sightings of these octopuses. While they're found in different parts of the world, they live deep in the ocean where humans can't dive and many other animals can't survive. Here's what we know about this Disney-named octopus.
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The Dumbo Octopus Is The World's Cutest Creature That You'll Never Get To See
Dumbo octopuses live deep below the ocean's surface where humans can't dive
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The dumbo octopus or Grimpoteuthis is an octopus species known for its two large fins on either side of the mantle that stick out like ears. That's why they were named after the Disney character, Dumbo the elephant, who's also known for his big ears.
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Scientific Name
Grimpoteuthis spp.
Conservation Status
Not extinct (least concern)
Size
Up to 12 inches, but a 6-foot one has been spotted before
Colors
Invisible, white, pink, brown, yellow, purple, red, orange
Preys
Mollusks, small crustaceans like copepods, amphipods and isopods, bivalves such as oysters, snails and bristle worms
Predators
Tunas, sharks, dolphins
These octopuses, however, are much smaller creatures. They have short tentacles and a bell-shaped body that earned them the label of the "cutest" sea creature in the world. There are 17 recognized species under the genus Grimpoteuthis which are all found at the extreme ocean depths.
The dumbos are also cirrates, one of the two main divisions of octopuses. Their distinct feature is the cirri on their arms or filament-like protrusions that help take food into the octopus's beak. Unlike incirrate octopuses, cirrates like dumbos have no ink sacs (used for self-defense) and are less common.
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Dumbo Octopuses Live Deep In The Ocean Because Of The Cold High-Pressure Environment
Dumbo octopuses can live between 1,000 to 13,000 feet below the surface. But the deepest recorded sighting of the dumbo was at 20,000 feet beneath, back in 2020. They spend most of their time in the deepest and darkest parts of the seabed, where they also eat and reproduce.
Explaining their ability to survive high pressures, Stephanie L. Bush, PhD, at the Smithsonian said it's an "evolutionary adaptation." She explained that the dumbos "don't have any gas-filled spaces that are affected directly."
"Their enzymes have adapted over evolutionary time to allow them to live under pressure and cold temperatures," Bush added. "Our enzymes wouldn't work if we were under great pressure. Our chemical processes, like digesting food, would not work for us."
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Although they are elusive to humans, dumbo octopuses wander a lot by flying through the water. They flap their fins, much like Dumbo the elephant. They also crawl using their eight legs that are connected by a web of skin which, when contracted, can give them a speed boost. It's useful when avoiding predators.
Dumbo Octopuses Don't Have A Mating Season
Dumbo octopuses reproduce all the time. They don't have mating seasons, unlike a majority of animal life. A female dumbo continuously lays eggs in varying locations like rocks or corals.
The male dumbos simply give them an "encapsulated sperm packet" for them to use to fertilize their eggs at any time. The females can take multiple sperm packets from different males.
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It's then possible for female dumbos to carry eggs in different developmental stages. But the catch may be that the dumbos' average life expectancy is only three to five years. As cirrates, dumbos can keep laying eggs for their entire lifetime, unlike the incirrates who are semelparous, which means they lay eggs once and die once the babies are born.
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Dumbo Octopuses Can Be Found In Different Oceans Across The World
There have been sightings of dumbo octopuses in parts of the U.S., Asia, and Oceania
Dumbo octopuses have been spotted in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean. These sightings are rare, with their distribution and population trend remaining unknown. They were first discovered during the Challenger expedition (1872-1876) but their genus was determined decades later in 1932 by Guy Coburn Robson, a British zoologist who specialized in Mollusca.
All the places where a dumbo octopus has been seen:
Australia Azores Monterey Bay, California Off the coast of Martha's Vineyard New Zealand Off the coast of Oregon Papua New Guinea Philippines Gulf of Mexico Guyana
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In 2014, the Ocean Exploration Command Center (ECC) at the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology (CIOERT) at Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch successfully photographed a dumbo in the Gulf of Mexico. The exploration was focused on the west Florida Continental Shelf, which they called a "hotspot of biodiversity."
Biological scientist, Kristen Davis, said that the dumbo they spotted had "its legs coiled - this body posture has never been observed before."
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The Dumbo Octopus Is Often Mistaken For The Flapjack Octopus
Both the flapjack and dumbo octopuses are umbrella octopuses, but they're very different from each other
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The dumbo octopus is often mistaken for the flapjack octopus (pictured above). Both of these octopuses have distinct ears that are comparable to Dumbo the elephant's ears. They're also both cirrates and are not easily accessible to humans. But they have several differences despite both being a species of the umbrella octopus group (characterized by their webbed arm).
Flapjack Octopus
Scientific Name
Opisthoteuthis californiana
Conservation Status
Not extinct (least concern)
Size
Up to 20 inches in length
Colors
red, pink, orange, yellow
Diet
Snails, worms, and other ocean floor creatures
Where They're Found
Japan California Northern and northeastern Pacific Ocean The Sea of Okhotsk Mediterranean Sea South Eastern Atlantic Ocean
While the dumbos got its name for its Dumbo-ear-like fins, flapjacks were named after pancakes due to their ability to flatten themselves out. Here are the key differences between dumbo and flapjack octopuses:
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Flapjacks have more webbing between their arms Flapjacks have smaller fins Flapjacks have larger eyes Dumbos live way deeper in the ocean, with flapjacks being spotted only as deep as 1,180 feet Dumbos flap their fins to propel themselves through the water while flapjacks glide like jellyfish
The flapjacks and dumbos are technically tied for the title of "cutest octopus in the world." People likely confuse them because they're not easily spotted in the ocean, hence the limited and often interchanged photos of them.