Small, ghostly-white octopus was found in the deep sea off Hawaii and has been likened to the beloved cartoon character

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Scientists say they have discovered what might be a new species of octopus while searching the Pacific Ocean floor near the Hawaiian Islands.

On 27 February, a team found a small light-coloured octopus at a depth of about 2.5 miles.

Octopuses' colourful and violent relationships revealed in underwater footage Read more

Michael Vecchione of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the discovery was made near Necker Island. The octopus did not have fins and all of its suckers were in one row on each arm, Vecchione said.

The octopus “did not seem very muscular”, he said.

“This resulted in a ghostlike appearance, leading to a comment on social media that it should be called Casper, like the friendly cartoon ghost. It is almost certainly an undescribed species ..., “ he said in the statement posted on Wednesday on the NOAA website.

It’s unusual to find an octopus without fins so deep in the ocean, said Vecchione, who noted that the previous depths at which an octopus without fins was found were all less than 4,000m, or 2.5 miles.

Two scientists he has consulted “agreed that this is something unusual and is a depth record ...,” said Vecchione, who is with NOAA’s National Systematics Laboratory.

The octopus was discovered during a search of the ocean floor by NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer, he said.