Image of a previously unknown Octopus on the ocean floor

Casper The Octopus

NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has found what seems to be a new species of Octopus way way down in the depths of the ocean!

The first operational dive of Okeanos Explorer’s 2016 season, on February 27, explored depths of over 4,000 meters northeast of Necker Island (Mokumanamana) in the Hawaiian Archipelago. The dive was planned to obtain baseline information on whether a connection exists between Necker Island and Necker Ridge, a narrow feature that extends over 400 miles and protrudes past the current exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the United States.

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The octopod imaged in detail on this first dive was a member of the second group, the incirrates. A distinctive characteristic was that the suckers were in one, rather than two, series on each arm. This animal was particularly unusual because it lacked the pigment cells, called chromatophores, typical of most cephalopods, and it did not seem very muscular. This resulted in a ghostlike appearance, leading to a comment on social media that it should be called Casper, like the friendly cartoon ghost. It is almost certainly an undescribed species and may not belong to any described genus.

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Read more @ NOAA 
(http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1603/logs/mar2/mar2.html)

 

https://youtu.be/i_tyz_JNmVI

@ Motherboard for the YouTube version of the NOAA video

 

Image of a previously unknown Octopus on the ocean floor
Image of the new Octopus ‘Casper’.
You can thank NOAA for this image.
Image of a previously unknown Octopus on the ocean floor
Image of the new Octopus ‘Casper’.
You can thank NOAA for this image.
Image of a previously unknown Octopus on the ocean floor
Image of the new Octopus ‘Casper’.
You can thank NOAA for this image.
Image of a previously unknown Octopus on the ocean floor
Image of the new Octopus ‘Casper’.
You can thank NOAA for this image.
Image of a previously unknown Octopus on the ocean floor
Image of the new Octopus ‘Casper’.
You can thank NOAA for this image.

 

A nature documentary needs to be made about this little fella!

Get on it Nat Geo and Discovery! Get off your got dang butts and go find Casper!!!