Except in this case, its most distinguishing characteristic is just how darn cute it is.

Stephanie Bush, a postdoctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, said her team is working on putting together a formal scientific description of the species. The team who puts together the description also gets to name it.

“One of the thoughts I had was making it Opisthoteuthis Adorabilis – because it’s really cute,” Bush said.

The octopus has been described as a cross between a Pac-Man ghost and a Pokemon creature.

It’s also related to the pink “flapjack” octopus in the movie, “Finding Nemo.”

So it’s only a matter of time before Adorabilis is ready for its close-up.

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com