Watch as a ghostly octopus swims through dark waters off California

On Tuesday at some 10,000 feet beneath the sea, marine scientists spotted a little-seen octopus swimming through the dark, black waters.

A robotic Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) piloted by the Ocean Exploration Trust filmed this genus of Octopus, the bell-shaped Grimpoteuthis, as the ROV maneuvered around a deep-sea reef off the central California coast. 

This specific area, near the inactive volcano known as the Davidson Seamount, is an uncharted deep-sea world, according to the exploration group. 

In these hard-to-reach, largely alien places, scientists regularly observe life that has never been seen or documented before.

A Grimpoteuthis octopus.

Grimpoteuthis, however, has been studied to limited degrees. But still, the species isn’t well known to science.

While these octopuses may generally be little-known, scientists have identified 14 species of the Grimpoteuthis genus, though Ocean Exploration Trust scientists couldn’t determine which species they captured on the ROV’s camera.

What is known, however, is that Grimpoteuthis are largely deep-dwelling critters, and they have two U-shaped fins on their sides that they often use to propel themselves through the water.

While moving through a light falling of marine snow, the octopus travels around the water almost like a jellyfish, before revealing its long, almost webbed tentacles. 

Marine scientists acknowledge that our vast oceans are poorly explored. Much of the deep sea remains uncharted — similar to distant moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter. 

Earth’s undersea realm largely remains a mystery.