A new animal every day

Today · Thursday 5 November 2026

A pale pink and lilac octopus in the black deep sea, with two ear-like fins on its head and its arms curled below.

Picked by voters

Dumbo octopus

It swims by flapping two ear-like fins above its eyes, just like Dumbo, the flying elephant it’s named after.

Lives in
Deep seaThe deep ocean floor all around the world, thousands of metres down
More about the Dumbo octopusScientific name, size and Red List status
Scientific name
Grimpoteuthis
Size
Most are 20–30 cm long
IUCN Red List
No single status

The IUCN Red List assesses each species separately, and this photo can’t be narrowed down to one species. What this means

Fact source: US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

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This week

Every animal so far
  1. Mon 2American bison
  2. Tue 3Common midwife toad
  3. Wed 4Christmas tree worm
  4. Thu 5Dumbo octopusToday
  5. Fri 6Tomorrow’s animalin 3 h 13 min
  6. Sat 7
  7. Sun 8

Why Animall

People can’t care about animals they have never heard of.

Scientists still discover thousands of new animal species every year, while many others are disappearing because of habitat loss and climate change. Some die out before anyone has described them.

10,000+

new animal species are described every year.

University of Arizona, 2025

86%

of species on Earth, and 91% in the ocean, have not been described yet.

Mora et al., 2011

73%

average drop in monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2020.

WWF Living Planet Report, 2024