Scientists using a remotely operated vehicle to survey the seafloor earlier this week spotted something spooky: a ghostly creature with pale skin, bulging eyes, and what looked like translucent wings—the elusive dumbo octopus.

Scientists aboard the E/V Nautilus were exploring the Davidson Seamount, an inactive undersea volcano off the coast of California, when the spectral octopus greeted their submersible. As it drifted into full view, the team couldn't contain its excitement. (Watch a gulper eel inflate and deflate itself, shocking scientists.)



“Oh my, it’s so cute,” says one team member. “I love me a good cephalopod,” says another.

Seeing this deep-sea dweller was a treat for the researchers says Chad King, Nautilus’ chief scientist. “It's very exciting to see