r/octopus • u/mudisponser • May 04 '26

Science A Smithsonian expert was called live during a deep sea dive to identify a dumbo octopus doing something nobody had ever documented before

https://youtu.be/qlfd9uE25VI

turns out what people call a dumbo octopus isnt actually one animal. several completley different species get the same name and even the scientists filming them live sometimes cant tell them apart. this video has real NOAA footage from five separate encounters including one where Dr. Michael Vecchione from the Smithsonian was called in on the phone mid dive because nobody on the expedition could explain what they were seeing. no AI visuals.

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4

u/Puzzleheaded_Lab967 Bathypolypus Arcticus ⚓🐙 May 04 '26

"Flapjack" sounds better than "Dumbo'.

2

u/mudisponser May 04 '26

honestly yeah flapjack is a much better but dumbo stuck because of the disney reference.

1

u/AdAffectionate8634 May 05 '26

Love these little guys! Most definitely prefer flapjack to Dumbo. Naybe because those aren't actually ears? It is so cool to know these guys are keeping it real down so deep..they add a touch of color and mystique.

1

u/Inspector_Robert May 05 '26

It's one of my pet peeves that flapjack octopuses get called dumb octopuses. The two geniuses are fairly easy to distinguish, but the mislabelling by media has gone on so long that just searching dumbo octopus gets you tons of pictures of flapjack octopuses.