On Halloween this awesome flapjack octopus doesn’t have to worry about putting on a costume because it already looks like a spoopy little ghost!
You probably don’t look this adorable when you swim… The deep-sea flapjack octopus, Opisthoteuthis “adorabilis,” is a cirrate octopus—meaning that a pair of hairlike filaments surround each sucker on its eight webbed arms. Incirrate octopuses—like the giant Pacific octopus—do not have these cirri, and are more commonly found in shallower waters.
A flapjack octopus can use its arms as a parachute to pulse about and catch the current, while two earlike fins help it maneuver over the deep sea floor. Find out more about our research on this adorable and mysterious critter!
