Scientists may have discovered ‘Casper’, a new octopus species near Hawaii
A team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found the small and finless light-coloured creature while searching the Pacific Ocean floor.
Scientists say they may have discovered a new species of octopus while searching the floor of the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii’s Necker Island. A team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found the small, light-coloured octopus at a depth of about 4,000 metres on February 27. Michael Vecchione of the NOAA said the octopus did not have fins and did not seem very muscular either, which gave it a “ghostlike appearance”. This, he believes, led to many on social media dubbing it Casper, the friendly cartoon ghost.
Vecchione, who is with NOAA’s National Systematics Laboratory, said it was unusual to find a finless octopus at that depth. He explained that earlier, octopi without fins were found only at depths less than 4,000 metres. The octopus was discovered during NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer’s search of the ocean floor, The Guardian reported.