Mimic octopus

Last updated

Mimic octopus
Mimic Octopus 2.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Octopodidae
Genus: Thaumoctopus
Norman & Hochberg, 2005 [1]
Species:
T. mimicus
Binomial name
Thaumoctopus mimicus
Norman & Hochberg, 2005 [1]

The mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) is a species of octopus from the Indo-Pacific region. Like other octopuses, it uses its chromatophores to disguise itself. It is noteworthy for being able to impersonate a wide variety of other marine animals. [2] While many animals mimic either their environment or other animals to avoid predation, the mimic octopus and its close relative the wunderpus are the only ones known to actively imitate several animals in order to elude predators. [3]

Contents

Appearance

The mimic octopus is a smaller octopus, growing to a total length of about 60 cm (2 ft), including arms, with a diameter approximately that of a pencil at their widest. Small horns protrude from each eye. The octopus' natural color is light brown/beige, but it usually takes on a more noticeable hue of striped white and brown to scare off predators by imitating poisonous species. According to DNA sequence analysis, the second evolved trait was the simultaneous development of its lengthy arms and its flatfish-like swimming ability. By transfusing these traits together, the octopus transforms to a bold color pattern while swimming like a flatfish when hunting for food or resting. [4]

Habitat and range

Mimic octopus showing typical pattern Mimic Octopus2.jpg
Mimic octopus showing typical pattern

The mimic octopus was first discovered off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia in 1998 on the bottom of a muddy river mouth. [5] [6] It has since been found to inhabit the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman in the west to New Caledonia in the east, and Gulf of Thailand and the Philippines in the north to the Great Barrier Reef in south. [1] [7] [8] Most documented observations are from Indonesia. [7] It is primarily found in areas with sand or silt at depths of less than 15 m (49 ft). [2] It prefers obscuring murky and muddy sea floors to blend in with its natural brown-beige coloring.

Behavior

The mimic octopus uses a jet of water through its funnel to glide over the sand while searching for prey, which mostly consists of small fish, crabs, and worms. It prefers river mouths and estuaries, as opposed to reefs which are usually preferred as shelter by other types of octopus.

Mimic octopus showing a variant pattern Mimic Octopus 5.jpg
Mimic octopus showing a variant pattern

Mimic octopuses have been observed mimicking numerous different species of animals, some animals being mimicked more often than others. Among the animals mimicked are lionfish (the octopus holds its arms out radially to mimic the fish's spines), sea snake (hiding 6 of its arms, it holds the remaining 2 parallel to each other), [9] jellyfish (by inflating its mantle and trailing its arms behind it), and zebra sole (holding all 8 arms behind it as it uses its siphon to swim). The octopus' mimicry of flatfish may be its preferred guise; a 2008 study showed that over a period of 5 days, nearly 500 instances of flatfish mimicry were seen by a single individual. [10] Not only does the mimic octopus use its ability to defend from predators, it also uses aggressive mimicry to approach wary prey, for example mimicking a crab as an apparent mate.

The mimic octopus retains the ability to camouflage with its sandy environment. It was also observed to mimic sessile animals such as small sponges, tube worm tubes, or colonial tunicates. [10]

The octopus may be able to intelligently use its mimicry based on the situation. For example, a mimic octopus which was being harassed by damselfish mimicked a banded sea snake, a known damselfish predator. [11] The mimic octopus has also been observed in opportunistic mimicry with a jawfish. [12]

Feeding

The mimic octopus can either be classified as a hunter or a forager. It is believed to be a hunter because scientists have observed and recorded the octopus having the ability to stalk prey and hunt down small fish and catch them. More often, however, the mimic octopus can be seen foraging for food. It does this by using a jet of water through its siphon to glide over the sand while searching for prey, and using its slender arms to reach into crevices in coral, as well as holes in the sand, and use its suction cups to grab small crustaceans and eat them. Because the mimic octopus prefers to live in shallow, murky waters, it is believed that its diet consists almost exclusively of small fish and crustaceans. They are believed to be carnivores, and are not known to eat any type of plant or vegetation. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flatfish</span> Order of fishes

A flatfish is a member of the ray-finned demersal fish order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around the head during development. Some species face their left sides upward, some face their right sides upward, and others face either side upward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Predation</span> Biological interaction

Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation and parasitoidism. It is distinct from scavenging on dead prey, though many predators also scavenge; it overlaps with herbivory, as seed predators and destructive frugivores are predators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimicry</span> Evolutionary strategy

In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simplest case, as in Batesian mimicry, a mimic resembles a model, so as to deceive a dupe, all three being of different species. A Batesian mimic, such as a hoverfly, is harmless, while its model, such as a wasp, is harmful, and is avoided by the dupe, such as an insect-eating bird. Birds hunt by sight, so the mimicry in that case is visual, but in other cases mimicry may make use of any of the senses. Most types of mimicry, including Batesian, are deceptive, as the mimics are not harmful, but Müllerian mimicry, where different harmful species resemble each other, is honest, as when species of wasps and of bees all have genuinely aposematic warning coloration. More complex types may be bipolar, involving only two species, such as when the model and the dupe are the same; this occurs for example in aggressive mimicry, where a predator in wolf-in-sheep's-clothing style resembles its prey, allowing it to hunt undetected. Mimicry is not limited to animals; in Pouyannian mimicry, an orchid flower is the mimic, resembling a female bee, its model; the dupe is the male bee of the same species, which tries to copulate with the flower, enabling it to transfer pollen, so the mimicry is again bipolar. In automimicry, another bipolar system, model and mimic are the same, as when blue lycaenid butterflies have 'tails' or eyespots on their wings that mimic their own heads, misdirecting predator dupes to strike harmlessly. Many other types of mimicry exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">False cleanerfish</span> Species of fish

The false cleanerfish is a species of combtooth blenny, a mimic that copies both the dance and appearance of Labroides dimidiatus, a similarly colored species of cleaner wrasse. It likely mimics that species to avoid predation, as well as to occasionally bite the fins of its victims rather than consume parasites. Most veiled attacks occur on juvenile fish, as adults that have been attacked in the past may avoid or even attack A. taeniatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-predator adaptation</span> Defensive feature of prey for selective advantage

Anti-predator adaptations are mechanisms developed through evolution that assist prey organisms in their constant struggle against predators. Throughout the animal kingdom, adaptations have evolved for every stage of this struggle, namely by avoiding detection, warding off attack, fighting back, or escaping when caught.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aposematism</span> Honest signalling of an animals powerful defences

Aposematism is the advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or smell, sharp spines, or aggressive nature. These advertising signals may take the form of conspicuous coloration, sounds, odours, or other perceivable characteristics. Aposematic signals are beneficial for both predator and prey, since both avoid potential harm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crypsis</span> Aspect of animal behaviour and morphology

In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an animal or a plant to avoid observation or detection by other animals. It may be a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation. Methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle and mimicry. Crypsis can involve visual, olfactory or auditory concealment. When it is visual, the term cryptic coloration, effectively a synonym for animal camouflage, is sometimes used, but many different methods of camouflage are employed in nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambush predator</span> Predator that sits and waits for prey to come to it

Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture their prey via stealth, luring or by strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey using sheer speed or endurance, ambush predators avoid fatigue by staying in concealment, waiting patiently for the prey to get near, before launching a sudden overwhelming attack that quickly incapacitates and captures the prey.

<i>Octopus cyanea</i> Species of cephalopod known as the big blue octopus

Octopus cyanea, also known as the big blue octopus or day octopus, is an octopus in the family Octopodidae. It occurs in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Hawaii to the eastern coast of Africa. O. cyanea grows to 16 cm in mantle length with arms to at least 80 cm. This octopus was described initially by the British zoologist John Edward Gray in 1849; the type specimen was collected off Australia and is at the Natural History Museum in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aggressive mimicry</span> Deceptive mimicry of a harmless species by a predator

Aggressive mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predators, parasites, or parasitoids share similar signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host. Zoologists have repeatedly compared this strategy to a wolf in sheep's clothing. In its broadest sense, aggressive mimicry could include various types of exploitation, as when an orchid exploits a male insect by mimicking a sexually receptive female, but will here be restricted to forms of exploitation involving feeding. For example, indigenous Australians who dress up as and imitate kangaroos when hunting would not be considered aggressive mimics, nor would a human angler, though they are undoubtedly practising self-decoration camouflage. Treated separately is molecular mimicry, which shares some similarity; for instance a virus may mimic the molecular properties of its host, allowing it access to its cells. An alternative term, Peckhamian mimicry, has been suggested, but it is seldom used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal coloration</span> General appearance of an animal

Animal colouration is the general appearance of an animal resulting from the reflection or emission of light from its surfaces. Some animals are brightly coloured, while others are hard to see. In some species, such as the peafowl, the male has strong patterns, conspicuous colours and is iridescent, while the female is far less visible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bottom feeder</span> Aquatic animal that feeds on the bottom of a body of water

A bottom feeder is an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water. Biologists often use the terms benthos—particularly for invertebrates such as shellfish, crabs, crayfish, sea anemones, starfish, snails, bristleworms and sea cucumbers—and benthivore or benthivorous, for fish and invertebrates that feed on material from the bottom. However the term benthos includes all aquatic life that lives on or near the bottom, which means it also includes non-animals, such as plants and algae. Biologists also use specific terms that refer to bottom feeding fish, such as demersal fish, groundfish, benthic fish and benthopelagic fish. Examples of bottom feeding fish species groups are flatfish, eels, cod, haddock, bass, grouper, carp, bream (snapper) and some species of catfish and sharks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plate fish</span> Species of fish

The plate fish is a flounder in the genus Bothus, found in the warmer parts of the Atlantic including the Caribbean. Its typical habitat is sandy plains near coral reefs and it is able to change its colouring to make it well-camouflaged in this environment. It is sometimes known as the peacock flounder, a name also given to the closely related Bothus mancus from the Indo-Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral reef fish</span> Fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs

Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among the myriad inhabitants, the fish stand out as colourful and interesting to watch. Hundreds of species can exist in a small area of a healthy reef, many of them hidden or well camouflaged. Reef fish have developed many ingenious specialisations adapted to survival on the reefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal fish</span> Fish that inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf

Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish, inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone. Coastal fish can be contrasted with oceanic fish or offshore fish, which inhabit the deep seas beyond the continental shelves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caudal luring</span> Form of aggressive mimicry where the predator attracts prey using its tail

Caudal luring is a form of aggressive mimicry characterized by the waving or wriggling of the predator's tail to attract prey. This movement attracts small animals who mistake the tail for a small worm or other small animal. When the animal approaches to prey on the worm-like tail, the predator will strike. This behavior has been recorded in snakes, sharks, and eels.

<i>Callistoctopus ornatus</i> Species of mollusc

Callistoctopus ornatus is a tropical species of octopus native to the Indo-Pacific region. Other common names include white-striped octopus and night octopus, in reference to its nocturnal habits. It was previously known as Polypus ornatus. C. ornatus is edible and was recorded in a Hawaiian market in 1914 by S. S. Berry.

<i>Macrotritopus defilippi</i> Species of mollusc

Macrotritopus defilippi, commonly known as the Lilliput longarm octopus or the Atlantic longarm octopus, is a small species of octopus, a marine cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larger Pacific striped octopus</span> Species of octopus

The larger Pacific striped octopus (LPSO), or Harlequin octopus, is a species of octopus known for its intelligence and gregarious nature. The species was first documented in the 1970s and, being fairly new to scientific observation, has yet to be scientifically described. Because of this, LPSO has no official scientific name. Unlike other octopus species which are normally solitary, the LPSO has been reported as forming groups of up to 40 individuals. While most octopuses are cannibalistic and have to exercise extreme caution while mating, these octopuses mate with their ventral sides touching, pressing their beaks and suckers together in an intimate embrace. The LPSO has presented many behaviors that differ from most species of octopus, including intimate mating behaviors, formation of social communities, unusual hunting behavior, and the ability to reproduce multiple times throughout their life. The LPSO has been found to favor the tropical waters of the Eastern Pacific.

<i>Wunderpus photogenicus</i> Species of cephalopod

Wunderpus photogenicus, the wunderpus octopus, is a small-bodied species of octopus with distinct white and rusty brown coloration. 'Wunderpus' from German “wunder” meaning ‘marvel or wonder’.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Norman, M.D.; and Hochberg, F.G. (2005). "The 'mimic Octopus' (Thaumoctopus mimicus n. gen. et sp.), a new octopus from the tropical Indo-West Pacific (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae)." Molluscan Research 25: 57–70.
  2. 1 2 3 Maculay, G. (January 6, 2012). "Mimic Octopus Creature Feature - Diving with Mimics". Dive The World - Scuba Diving Vacations - Dive Travel - Diving Holidays - Liveaboards. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  3. Harmon, Katherine (February 21, 2013). "Mimic Octopus Makes Home on Great Barrier Reef". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  4. Baker, Beth (2010). "Unusual Adaptations: Evolution of the Mimic Octopus". BioScience. 60 (11): 962. doi:10.1525/bio.2010.60.11.18. ISSN   0006-3568. JSTOR   10.1525/bio.2010.60.11.18.
  5. "Mimic Octopuses, Thaumoctopus mimicus". MarineBio. MarineBio Conservation Society. January 14, 2013. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  6. Norman, Mark D.; Finn, Julian; Tregenza, Tom (2001-09-07). "Dynamic mimicry in an Indo–Malayan octopus". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. 268 (1478): 1755–1758. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1708. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   1088805 . PMID   11522192.
  7. 1 2 Coker, Darren J. (2013). "Documentation of the mimic octopus Thaumoctopus mimicus in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia." Marine Biodiversity Records 1-2.
  8. Nabhitabhata, Jaruwat; and Sukhsangchan, Charuay (2007). New Photographic Record of the Mimic Octopus in the Gulf of Thailand. Phuket Mar. Biol. Cent. Res. Bull. 68: 31–34.
  9. "Mimic Octopuses". Marinebio.org. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  10. 1 2 Hanlon, R. T.; Conroy, L.-A.; Forsythe, J. W. (2008). "Mimicry and foraging behaviour of two tropical sand-flat octopus species off North Sulawesi, Indonesia". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 93: 23–38. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00948.x .
  11. John Roach (21 September 2001). "Newfound Octopus Impersonates Fish,Snakes". National Geographic. Archived from the original on October 18, 2001.
  12. Rocha, L. A.; Ross, R.; Kopp, G. (2012-03-01). "Opportunistic mimicry by a Jawfish". Coral Reefs. 31 (1): 285. doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0855-y. ISSN   1432-0975.

Further reading