Dumbo Octopus

This little guy got his name because they swim, like Dumbo flies, by flapping their ear-like fins that are protruding from the top of their head-like bodies.They live at extreme depths of 3000–4000 meters, with some living up to 7000 meters below sea level, which is the deepest of any octopus species to be found.

They hover above the ocean floor eating worms, crustaceans and other things. The Dumbo octopus is strange in the way that it consumes food in that it swallows it prey whole, which differs from any other kind of octopus.


They move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, by waving their ear-like fins, or any combination thereof. Males and females differ in their size and sucker patterns. Dissected females have yielded eggs during different stages of development, which has led to the conclusion that females lay eggs consistently, with no distinct breeding season.
Male Dumbo octopuses possess an enlarged segment on one of their arms, and it is thought that this arm plays a role in the reproduction of the octopuses. The arm transfers a spermatophore into the female during copulation.