Imitation
Here is the Indo Malayan octopus in
its natural state, sitting on a burrow of sand...
Some animals, particularly certain
species of birds and fish, are known to change colors to attract
mates or to camouflage themselves to protect against predators. The
Indo-Malayan octopus, first identified in 1998, has not had many
years under man's proverbial microscope, so much about how the
octopus developed his many skins is not known. But in the meantime,
it's fascinating to study.
First observed by Mark Norman,
Julian Finn, and Tom Tregenza on research dives in Indonesia, these
unusual mimics were observed in many disguises during a 24 hour
period. The researchers photographed the octopus in many phases, as
the photos below will show.
Here the octopus is shown foraging
for food, using the tips of its arms to probe down holes and the flared
web-like part of their arms to trap anything trying to escape from
the holes... almost like digging finger tips at the end of clasping
hands.
When moving, the Indo-Malayan
octopus draws its arms together into a leaf shape.
In the next photo, the octopus seems
to imitate a particular kind of sole fish found abundantly in the
same waters.
Here, the mimic octopus is swimming
like a lion fish...
... sometimes with its "poisonous"
spines flared, as below. (In the lion fish those spines are
poisonous; it is not suspected that they are poisonous in the
octopus, only that the octopus is mimicking the appearance and
movements of the lion fish for protective purposes.)
In the next two photos the octopus
is imitating a banded sea-snake.
