The Dumbo Octopus: Curious But Unknown
The dumbo octopus has a unique characteristic within its family : its way of propelling itself distinguishes it from other octopuses. Also its habitat, which makes it remain almost a complete mystery to humans. We invite you to discover this special octopus.
Characteristics of the dumbo octopus
The great characteristic that defines the dumbo octopus is its physique: just as the rest of the octopuses have long tentacles and are propelled by expelling water, this animal has two fins on the sides of its head that help to swim. These two fins are rounded: between them and his way of moving immediately reminds of Dumbo, the Disney elephant who flew thanks to his ears.
In reality, the dumbo octopus is not a single species, but it is a genus made up of, as far as we know, 13 different species. They all have webbed tentacles and fins on their heads. Also, they all swallow their prey whole, instead of pecking and breaking them before putting them in their mouth, as other cephalopods do.
The dumbo octopus lives in the depths of the ocean, and because it is in such an inaccessible place, we know very little about them: it is not known what the average size of the species is, and only very recently has it been observed how are the offspring. It is also not known for sure how they reproduce.
In general, they have been observed to be white or very pale in color: the lack of light in their habitat does not make it necessary for them to develop pigments in the skin. They have a gelatinous body, which helps it to withstand the great environmental pressure to which it is subjected throughout its life.
The average size and weight of the species is not known. The largest specimen on record weighed almost 13 kilograms and was almost two meters long, but the rest of the octopuses observed were much smaller. The average size is estimated to be 30 centimeters; it is not known how heavy animals of that size would be.
Behavior of the dumbo octopus
If we know little about its characteristics, its behavior is even less known. From this, the only thing that is known is that they live at great depths and to swim they propel themselves with the two fins that they have on their heads.
We also know roughly their diet: crustaceans, bivalves and worms. While they propel themselves and maintain balance with their fins, with the tentacles they feel the sea floor, rocks or corals to find their prey. They are placed on top of them and swallowed whole.
It seems that there is no reproductive season: females carry several eggs in different stages of maturation within them and, when environmental conditions are favorable, they fertilize one of them and lay it down. The young that are born are already fully developed and can fend for themselves.
Dumbo octopus habitat
The dumbo octopus is the species of octopus that lives the deepest: they have been found between 2,000 and 5,000 meters deep : sunlight no longer penetrates this region of the ocean and there is great atmospheric pressure.
It is believed that they live throughout the entire planet : they have been found on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America, in the Philippine Islands, in the Azores Islands, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea … They do not seem to have a preference for one ocean or another.
Conservation of dumbo octopus
Because they live so deep in the ocean, humans can hardly threaten their survival. The great threats to this species are climate change and the rise in the temperature of the oceans, as well as water pollution: pieces of garbage or other types of debris can descend into their habitat.
The health of the octocorals, where the females lay their eggs, seem essential for their survival. Without these corals, the dumbo octopus cannot reproduce and the young cannot hunt their first prey to survive and grow.
Still, they do have a few predators to run from: killer whales, sharks, other larger cephalopods, and even tuna can hunt them down.
Of all the species of octopus, the dumbo is the genus that lives the deepest. This allows it to survive and develop without the threats of the human being, but it has complicated the task of studying it and knowing it better.
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