Dumbo Octopus – Grimpoteuthis bathynectes One of the rarest Dumbo octopus species, known for its soft, umbrella-shaped body and beautiful lavender color. Its short arms are connected by a delicate web that lets it glide through the water as if it’s flying, while its ear-like fins give it that iconic “Dumbo” look. And the shocking part? This footage was captured at a depth of 3,500 meters — a place where the pressure would crush most creatures, yet it moves calmly as if it owns the deep. #DeepSea

“The dozen or so species that make up Grimpoteuthis are called Dumbo octopuses because of the two large fins—one on either side of the mantle—that protrude like ears,” says @natgeo. This clip from ROV SuBastian shows a great example of how Dumbo Octopuses use the flapping their strong fins to propel themselves through the water, as opposed to the jet propulsion (expelling water forcefully from their siphons) as other octopuses do. Another noticeable difference is that the Dumbo octopus doesn’t h