(WJW) – Deep sea explorers were treated to a rare sight in the North Pacific Ocean.
The group spotted a rare Dumbo octopus while exploring the ocean floor at a depth of about 1 mile deep.
The expedition took place earlier this month in the northern Hawaiian Islands.
According to the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET), dumbo octopuses are typically spotted in the deep waters of the Central Pacific.
Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via Storyful 
Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via Storyful 
Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via Storyful 
Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via Storyful 
Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via Storyful 
Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via Storyful 
Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA via Storyful
They propel themselves using “famous ear-shaped fins to find food, then gobble their prey up whole, feasting on a variety of deep-sea critters such as copepods, isopods, bristle worms, and amphipods,” said the OET.
The scientists were part of an expedition funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, using Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus.
The expedition was focused on the “largely unexplored” northwestern section of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, where they spotted the rare octopus.
