by A new species of Dumbo octopus, equipped with telltale (and darling) fins on its head, has been dredged from the deep.
Nicknamed the Emperor Dumbo, the adorable creature was discovered in 2016. Alexander Ziegler of Friedrich Wilhelm University in Bonn, Germany, was aboard the German survey ship R/V Sonne as the resident biologist when a strange creature was caught in one of its nets near the Aleutian Islands.
"It was a really lucky find," Ziegler told Live Science, "because we weren't really looking for it. Plus, the whole animal came to the surface intact."
Typically, such nets damage animals made predominantly of soft tissue, like octopuses.
This one, however, was in immaculate condition — an impressive feat considering it was fished from the crushing depth of roughly 14,760 feet (4,500 meters).
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Nicknamed the Emperor Dumbo, the adorable creature was discovered in 2016. Alexander Ziegler of Friedrich Wilhelm University in Bonn, Germany, was aboard the German survey ship R/V Sonne as the resident biologist when a strange creature was caught in one of its nets near the Aleutian Islands.
"It was a really lucky find," Ziegler told Live Science, "because we weren't really looking for it. Plus, the whole animal came to the surface intact."
Typically, such nets damage animals made predominantly of soft tissue, like octopuses.
This one, however, was in immaculate condition — an impressive feat considering it was fished from the crushing depth of roughly 14,760 feet (4,500 meters).
Source
