And now, what you've all been waiting for; the magic of my mimicry.
My completely unique ability to not only blend in and mimic plants and rocks, but multiple animals too, is what sets me apart from other octopuses. People say I'm a very intelligent animal (duh! How else would I be writing this?) since I am able to imitate the colour patterns, speed, and body posture of various, usually venomous, animals. Another supposedly smart feature of mine is that I am able to discern which venomous or otherwise not-very-tasty animal would most successfully ward off a certain predator; essentially, I am just able to choose what animal to mimic based on what predator I need to scare off or avoid.
Sometimes we mimic a purely venomous creature that everyone likes to stay away from, sometimes we choose to simply imitate an unappealing, not-very-tasty specimen that the hunter doesn't feel is worth the effort.
Click here to see me morphing from form to form...I have to say, it's fairly amazing- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8oQBYw6xxc
Like I've said, my mimic octopus friends and I have evolved from just looking the same as things like the sea floor, coral, and rocks, to mimicking animals, hence the label 'mimic octopus'. This allows us to be mobile even while remaining 'camouflaged', and instead of just being ignored, we will be consciously avoided by predators.
Another explanation for why we evolved into mimicry is because of our surroundings. Unlike most other octopuses, we don't make our habitats in coral reefs, but in estuaries or river mouths, where the water is shallow and there are no particularly good hiding spots or places to blend in. This meant we needed to find another way of protecting ourselves from endangerment or extinction, so we eventually turned to pretending to be another life form, and actually burrowing into the sea floor to make homes and keep hidden, another feature exclusive to our species of octopus!
A probable reason we started to use these strategies and develop these traits was because of the environment surrounding us. Since we made our homes in estuaries, the aforementioned traits and skills were developed. And, since it is often murky and muddy in our living areas, our default colour is brown/beige and white, in order to naturally blend in when we aren't busy moving. And, if we had moved elsewhere instead of adapting to suit these estuaries, we would not have chosen the same species to imitate, like the flat fish or sea snake, as shown above.
One last thing- while many other species of octopus are known to be venomous, mimic octopuses are not believed to be. Why else would we go to such great lengths to mimic our fellow animals?
Part of our niche (role) in the community is to keep the population of our prey at a good level. Since we mimics eat things like crustaceans and small crabs and worms, we make sure they don't over populate. Of course, we also act as prey to other animals, and just generally keep the cycle of life going in estuary ecosystems.
My completely unique ability to not only blend in and mimic plants and rocks, but multiple animals too, is what sets me apart from other octopuses. People say I'm a very intelligent animal (duh! How else would I be writing this?) since I am able to imitate the colour patterns, speed, and body posture of various, usually venomous, animals. Another supposedly smart feature of mine is that I am able to discern which venomous or otherwise not-very-tasty animal would most successfully ward off a certain predator; essentially, I am just able to choose what animal to mimic based on what predator I need to scare off or avoid.
Sometimes we mimic a purely venomous creature that everyone likes to stay away from, sometimes we choose to simply imitate an unappealing, not-very-tasty specimen that the hunter doesn't feel is worth the effort.
Click here to see me morphing from form to form...I have to say, it's fairly amazing- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8oQBYw6xxc
Like I've said, my mimic octopus friends and I have evolved from just looking the same as things like the sea floor, coral, and rocks, to mimicking animals, hence the label 'mimic octopus'. This allows us to be mobile even while remaining 'camouflaged', and instead of just being ignored, we will be consciously avoided by predators.
Another explanation for why we evolved into mimicry is because of our surroundings. Unlike most other octopuses, we don't make our habitats in coral reefs, but in estuaries or river mouths, where the water is shallow and there are no particularly good hiding spots or places to blend in. This meant we needed to find another way of protecting ourselves from endangerment or extinction, so we eventually turned to pretending to be another life form, and actually burrowing into the sea floor to make homes and keep hidden, another feature exclusive to our species of octopus!
A probable reason we started to use these strategies and develop these traits was because of the environment surrounding us. Since we made our homes in estuaries, the aforementioned traits and skills were developed. And, since it is often murky and muddy in our living areas, our default colour is brown/beige and white, in order to naturally blend in when we aren't busy moving. And, if we had moved elsewhere instead of adapting to suit these estuaries, we would not have chosen the same species to imitate, like the flat fish or sea snake, as shown above.
One last thing- while many other species of octopus are known to be venomous, mimic octopuses are not believed to be. Why else would we go to such great lengths to mimic our fellow animals?
Part of our niche (role) in the community is to keep the population of our prey at a good level. Since we mimics eat things like crustaceans and small crabs and worms, we make sure they don't over populate. Of course, we also act as prey to other animals, and just generally keep the cycle of life going in estuary ecosystems.
Other Traits & Skills
Aside from mimicking, we have some other fascinating features that, while not different from other octopuses in our family, are still cool to learn about.
Like other octopuses, and many other cephalopods, I use a siphon to move through the water. In most cephalopods, the siphon is a muscular tube, also called the hyponome, The hyponome releases water in a jet, with water entering through the sides of the funnel. When it enters the tube, the hyponome will expand and contract to expel a jet of water, propelling us forward. Some octopuses can travel up to/around 20 kilometers an hour.
As you probably know, other octopuses also can change colour to blend in with their surroundings. We use chromatophores, special pigment cells, to do so. The chromatophore will expand or contract in response to light, and has a few different components to it. One part of this pigment cell is the biochrome, the part that actually produces and then contains the pigment, while the schemochromes change the way light reflects off of the animal's skin, therefore changing the colour.
Chromatophores are controlled by and connected to the nervous system. By controlling the size of the cell, we are able to vary in colour and create changing patterns. Using muscular contractions, one pigment cell of a certain colour can be expanded, while another can be shrunk!
A main part of our camouflaging system is our superior eyesight- without cephalopods having excellent seeing abilities, and being able to detect colour and intensity of light, our system for camouflaging would not be as fast or well-structured.
Hopefully some of this information lived up to your expectations! You humans are a picky bunch, so I wouldn't bet on it, but who knows. Speaking of humans...you guys are what I'll be talking about next time.
Like other octopuses, and many other cephalopods, I use a siphon to move through the water. In most cephalopods, the siphon is a muscular tube, also called the hyponome, The hyponome releases water in a jet, with water entering through the sides of the funnel. When it enters the tube, the hyponome will expand and contract to expel a jet of water, propelling us forward. Some octopuses can travel up to/around 20 kilometers an hour.
As you probably know, other octopuses also can change colour to blend in with their surroundings. We use chromatophores, special pigment cells, to do so. The chromatophore will expand or contract in response to light, and has a few different components to it. One part of this pigment cell is the biochrome, the part that actually produces and then contains the pigment, while the schemochromes change the way light reflects off of the animal's skin, therefore changing the colour.
Chromatophores are controlled by and connected to the nervous system. By controlling the size of the cell, we are able to vary in colour and create changing patterns. Using muscular contractions, one pigment cell of a certain colour can be expanded, while another can be shrunk!
A main part of our camouflaging system is our superior eyesight- without cephalopods having excellent seeing abilities, and being able to detect colour and intensity of light, our system for camouflaging would not be as fast or well-structured.
Hopefully some of this information lived up to your expectations! You humans are a picky bunch, so I wouldn't bet on it, but who knows. Speaking of humans...you guys are what I'll be talking about next time.