In 2016, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were baffled by a mysterious white, short-legged octopus that their remote-operated vehicle filmed off the coast of Hawaii at a depth of 2.6 miles.
The deep-sea robot has cameras to explore the ocean's seabed as part of NOAA's ocean exploration program. Scientists have never before seen any species like it. They believe it could be a newfound species and is the deepest-dwelling octopod without fins. Most deep-dwelling octopods have fins, like the dumbo octopus.
Meet Casper the 'Ghost Octopus'
The ghost octopus was nicknamed Casper because of its pale, white complexion and bulbous head that resembled the famous friendly ghost in the 1995 film. NOAA said upon discovering the ghost-like octopod is almost certainly an undescribed species that may not belong to any genus yet.
According to UNILAD, the only other cephalopods captured on camera at the same depths the ghost octopus was found were the Dumbo octopuses named after a cartoon.
Janet Voight, an associate curator of invertebrate zoology at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, noted a number of questions raised about the new species and recalled that it was a species never before seen.
The team explains that most coleoid cephalopods have multicellular organs that rapidly camouflage themselves by changing their colors and patterns to protect them from predators.
Many scientists were baffled by the discovery of the ghost octopus in 2016, but new details have been uncovered about it after five years of research and analysis. Scientists used archived footage taken on a deep-sea survey across the Pacific Ocean.
They found dozens more creatures that looked like Casper and saw two different species. Voight said that this could mean that ghost octopuses could be fairly common in the deep. It also signals how little science knows about them and the species in the deep sea.
For now, Casper will remain a mystery until further research is conducted and more information and data are gathered. By then, they hope to be able to name and identify the ghost octopus officially.
This octopod, Grimpoteuthis bathynectes, is nicknamed “Dumbo” because of its large “ear” like fins. These fins and webbed arms help it swim through the water. What looks like the head is called the mantle, a muscular bag that holds all the body organs and gills.
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Ghost Octopus Is Designed to Live in the Deep Sea
Although NOAA only got a short video of the ghost octopus, it still revealed interesting adaptations it developed for living in the deep. National Geographic said it has very few muscles that it is almost gelatinous in consistency. According to the researchers, it is likely because there is little food in the sea that could help them develop muscles.
Moreover, Voight suggested that the white color of the cephalopod could be due to a lack of pigments in its food in the deep sea where light could not reach. NOAA zoologist Michael Vecchione, who also works for the Smithsonian Institution, added that the octopus started climbing away upon seeing the robot either because it reacted to the light or the vibrations in the water.
Vecchione also said that it has eyes that can see bioluminescent animals, which is common to species in the deep sea. In terms of its arms, Voight explained that these species have shorter arms, likely due to an evolutionary trait that developed when they started to depend on their bodies more than their components in catching their prey. However, this theory is not yet proven.
It is opposite to some species in the shallow waters because the shallower and more tropical the sea, the longer and thinner arms some species would have.
Vecchione says that because the deep sea is rarely explored, little is known about what lives there. But having the opportunity to explore the depths indicates that more unexpected animals are likely to be discovered.
Watch the ghost octopus in the video below:
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