Martin Robert S.

Ramirez

Bio 164

2012-24696
Scientists Discover Friendly Cartoon Ghost Octopod in Deep Ocean off Hawaii
A new species of dumbo octopod was discovered near the Necker Island of Hawaii at
about 2.5 miles deep. It was discovered by a remotely controlled vehicle called the Deep
Discoverer in the process of making an ecological survey within this area. The octopod was
recorded to be found at the deepest habitat so far compared to its relatives. It is a new species
of its own and may even be part of a totally new genus. The difference that it had was that it had
a lack of chromatophores like most cephalopods and also lacked muscles. Since it very much
resembled a ghost cartoon, somebody on the social media commented that it should be named
Casper.
It is a good thing that we are discovering new species, since much of the biome today is
very much unexplored. We still have a lot to study and understand, and this is one step forward.
Other than this, the newly discovered species may fill up a missing link or at least allow us to
have a better understanding in evolution and even the ecological environment in the deep sea.
There are more species to discover and a lot of thing to study about this single species of
octopod alone.
I think that discovering newspecies is a good thing. We spend a lot of time trying to
preserve species that are selected against, but we do not notice that there are so many other
species around and that it is natural that species go extinct. Discovering new species helps us
turn our attention at the things that we do not know yet and not just the ones that have been
already discovered. Although preservation is very important, there is a lot of new species to
discover, and we have only done a very small percentage. Hopefully in the future, we get to
explore the biodiversity that exists on this planet.
Reference:
Butler, R. (2016, March 5). Scientists discover friendly cartoon ghost octopod in deep ocean off
Hawaii. Retrieved March 6, 2016, from http://news.mongabay.com/2016/03/scientists-discoverfriendly-cartoon-ghost-octopod-in-deep-ocean-off-hawaii/