Using almost entirely non-invasive scanning techniques instead of the standard highly invasive and sometimes fatal lab tests and dissections, researchers from the University of Bonn successfully identified the never-before-seen Grimpoteuthis imperator, or Dumbo octopus.
The G. imperator, a new subspecies of an already rare breed of octopus, was discovered in the northern part of the Emperor Seamounts, an underwater mountain ridge in the northwest Pacific Ocean. They live at depths of 7,000 meters (22,966 feet). The researchers suggested the common name for the critter: Emperor Dumbo in English, Dumbo Impérial in French, and Kaiserdumbo in German.
Rather than dissecting Dumbo, the marine biologists instead used high-field magnetic resonance imaging and micro-computed tomography scans to ascertain its origin before carrying out minimally invasive gene analysis on tissue samples to verify it was indeed a new species.
Measurements and digital photo comparisons with other types of Dumbo octopus – so called because of its two head fins, which resemble the large elephant ears sported by the lovable Disney character – were undertaken to settle the matter.
The researchers were also surprised to encounter a systemic heart in the new deepwater Dumbo, which had hitherto never been described in octopus species before.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
© 2021, paradox. All rights reserved.
The entire Ukrainian society would need to make sacrifices and forget about their peaceful lives…
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Saturday unveiled his first picks for the new cabinet,…
One person was killed and at least four others wounded in a Ukrainian rocket strike…
We have been through an intense, if muffled crisis in the ongoing political-military confrontation between…
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed on Friday that Russian forces have launched a new large-scale…
NATO soldiers are already in Ukraine helping Kiev but the US-led bloc does not want…