The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has found what’s most
likely a new species of octopus about 2.5 miles beneath the ocean’s surface near the Hawaiian Islands. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Okeanos Explorer was exploring the ocean floor near Necker Island when it discovered the small octopus.
Michael Vecchione of NOAA said the octopus did not have fins and all of its suckerswere in one row on each arm. The octopus “did not seem very muscular,” and was light colored, he said.
“This resulted in a ghostlike appearance, leading to a comment on social media that it should be called Casper, like the friendly cartoon ghost,” said Vecchione in a statement posted Wednesday on NOAA’s website. “It’s almost certainly an undescribed species…” It’s quite rare to find an octopus with no fins so deep in the ocean, said Vecchione, adding that the previous depths at which an octopus without fins was found were all less than 2.5 miles.
