Nature & Environment
Octopus is So Cute with its Big Eyes that Scientists are Naming it 'Adorabilis' (VIDEO)
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Jun 17, 2015 07:13 AM EDT
A tiny octopus is so cute that its new name could be adorabilis. Scientists have uncovered a small, Pac-man ghost-like octopus in the depths of the ocean that will now be formally named.
Researchers have been studying this species of wide-eyed octopus since 1990, according to Discover Magazine. But it's only now that scientists have finally reached the end of the exhaustive process to scientifically identify and name them. The researchers have to describe what makes them different from other species that may be closely related.
"As someone that's describing the species you get to pick what the specific name is," said Stephanie Bush, postdoctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, in an interview with Science Friday. "One of the thoughts I had was making it Opisthoteuthis adorabilis-because they're really cute."
The bright orange octopus is about 7 inches long and lives at depths of 984 to 1,476 feet. These cephalopods have webbed arms that allow it to push itself through the water, looking a bit like a parachute as it drifts through the ocean.
While the octopus is cute, very little is known about the species since it lives at such great depths. With that said, current efforts could tell researchers quite a bit more about the adorable creature.
Currently, the researchers are still studying the octopus and are caring for a few specimens in the lab.
Want to see the octopus for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
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First Posted: Jun 17, 2015 07:13 AM EDT
A tiny octopus is so cute that its new name could be adorabilis. Scientists have uncovered a small, Pac-man ghost-like octopus in the depths of the ocean that will now be formally named.
Researchers have been studying this species of wide-eyed octopus since 1990, according to Discover Magazine. But it's only now that scientists have finally reached the end of the exhaustive process to scientifically identify and name them. The researchers have to describe what makes them different from other species that may be closely related.
"As someone that's describing the species you get to pick what the specific name is," said Stephanie Bush, postdoctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, in an interview with Science Friday. "One of the thoughts I had was making it Opisthoteuthis adorabilis-because they're really cute."
The bright orange octopus is about 7 inches long and lives at depths of 984 to 1,476 feet. These cephalopods have webbed arms that allow it to push itself through the water, looking a bit like a parachute as it drifts through the ocean.
While the octopus is cute, very little is known about the species since it lives at such great depths. With that said, current efforts could tell researchers quite a bit more about the adorable creature.
Currently, the researchers are still studying the octopus and are caring for a few specimens in the lab.
Want to see the octopus for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
Related Stories
California Two-Spot Octopus Can 'See' Light with its Camoflauging Skin
How the Octopus Keeps its Eight Arms Untangled When Crawling (VIDEO)
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone