Newly Discovered Octopus Is So Cute, Its Species Is Named ‘Adorabilis’ [Video]
A newly discovered octopus is so cute, scientists decided to name the species using the word “adorable.” According to IFLScience, the creature barely looks real, and most people just want to hug it — so it seems only fitting that its scientific name would reflect its cuteness (this isn’t the first time that a species has been named for its looks either. Take the horse fly Scaptia beyonceae. It was named after Beyoncé).
#ICYMI: Check out this adorable new octopus species that was discovered in Monterey Bay: http://t.co/gkWrdauPLz pic.twitter.com/o5Lh0DqwrN
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsBayArea) June 18, 2015
“As someone that’s describing the species you get to pick what the specific name is. One of the thoughts I had was making it Opisthoteuthis adorabilis—because they’re really cute,” explained Stephanie Bush, a postdoctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
The little octopus has webbing connecting each of its tentacles, which is really what makes it different from other octopus species. As IFLScience points out, this webbing allows them to “glide through currents while using its fins to control its direction.”
According to WSLS, the new species was found in the Pacific Ocean, off of California’s coast.
Earlier this month, the ribbon worm made headlines. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a video of the strange green creature went viral. Check it out here.
[Photo via YouTube]
