PZ Myers. 2004 Nov 29. Indo-Malayan mimic octopus. <http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/indo_malayan_mimic_octopus/>. Accessed 2008 Dec 01.
Posted on M00o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr on Monday, November 29, 2004
Indo-Malayan mimic octopus
Now here's a cephalopod with a real talent. The first picture below is this clever Indonesian mimic octopus propped up above his burrow, keeping an eye out for food and danger; in the next picture, he's on the prowl, just relaxing in his natural colors.
Startle him, though, and poof, he transforms into a flatfish and swims away!
If he's worried more, he'll suddenly adopt the coloration and shape of a spiny, poisonous lionfish.
Aaaah! It's a banded sea-snake! Swim away!
But no, actually it's the octopus again.
And if you want to see these impressive tricks in action, here's a couple of movies. In the first, the octopus flashes stripes, and then turns brown, curls around, and swims off just like a flatfish.
In this one, he's tucked into his burrow with just two arms hanging out, doing a sea snake impression. Near the end, watch the fish swim into view, say "Yikes!"* and dart away again.
*OK, he really doesn't say anything, but you know he was thinking it.
Norman MD, Finn J, Tregenza T (2001) Dynamic mimicry in an Indo-Malayan octopus. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 268(1478):1755-1758.
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That is just so cool! Thanks for the look PZ.
#: Posted by on 11/29 at 08:16 PM
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Yep. Neat stuff.
#: Posted by on 11/29 at 09:03 PM
- I wish I could do that! (Somehow, it just never seems as impressive when I stretch out my arms, jump up and down, and yell "Look, world, I'm a bird!")
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There was a Discovery Channel special I saw on this guy a few years back. (And these pictures are from the show, or at least from the researchers who filmed it.) When I first got my Tivo, "mimic octopus" was one of the first "Wishlist" items I put in it.
You really can't get the full feel of what an amazing impressionist this animal is unless you can see it in full, moving action in its environment.
Fascinating, amazing, impressive; there really are few qualifiers strong enough for what an unbelievable show this little fellow can put on.
The Discovery Channel show repeats fairly regularly. I encourage you to try to catch it if you are interested.#: Posted by on 11/29 at 10:20 PM -
Yeah, ledge - it's thought they're closely related to, if not the same as the "wunderpus" found over a broader region.
#: Posted by on 11/30 at 12:27 AM
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Certainly the coolest part of its act is that first picture. Who'd've thought a sea creature's ability to mimic an owl would be adaptive?
#: Posted by Mrs Tilton on 11/30 at 06:56 AM
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Way cool.
#: Posted by on 11/30 at 08:58 AM
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It's an extraordinary beasty. I'm most amazed at how it captures the gesture of what it's mimicking more so than the look; the lionfish doesn't seem so realistic in a still photo, but in motion it's startling. Ain't nature keen?
#: Posted by Evan Murdock on 11/30 at 10:58 AM
- Octupi are just so nifty. You've heard about the one in captivity that learned to sneak out of its tank at night to go raid the crab tank, haven't you?
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Rana; Yes, I've heard that story and others about octupi being very intelligent and having extremely fast learning curves. Doc (PZ), if their eyes are wired differently than everything else, are their brains as well?
#: Posted by on 11/30 at 05:06 PM
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Wow, thats amazing
#: Posted by on 12/06 at 02:54 PM
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I love that thing you wrote
#: Posted by on 12/06 at 02:56 PM
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Read Jeremy Narby's "The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge" and you'll understand how this octopus learned how to do something that rational science can't explain. Guaranteed.
#: Posted by on 01/10 at 04:23 PM