Mollusks, Original Wild Facts, Uncategorized

Wild Fact #971 – Multiple Personalities – Mimic Octopus

Mimic Octopus

Throughout my ramblings at Wild Facts I have discussed several adaptations that animals have evolved to respond to predators.  For example we have learned that the hog-nose snake plays dead or that the chickadee changes its song to warn its friends. If you ask me, I think the Mimic Octopus has them all beat.  Don’t get me wrong, I thought the hog-nose snake was fascinating and a  great actor but they have nothing on the mimic octopus.

Like other octopus’ the mimic octopus is an intelligent mollusc with eight arms each with two rows of suction cups. As a side note, the octopus is thought to be the most intelligent invertebrate.  Similarly, most octopus’ are capable of changing their colour but the mimic octopus is able to change its colour, shape and behaviour to act like other animals.  That’s right when a mimic octopus is threatened they will take the form of other animals to scare off the would be predator.  If this were an X-Men movie then the mimic octopus would be like Mystique or some other shape shifter. For example if it were being attacked by a damselfish then the octopus would take the shape of a banded sea snake by changing its colour to black and white, drawing in six of its arms and waving the other two in opposite directions.  You are thinking that this is pretty cool but how does it help the mimic octopus against the damselfish.  Well,  the banded sea snake is one of the main predators of the damselfish.  The incredible thing about all this is the fact that this type of octopus can mimic at least 15 different species of animals depending upon its environment and what predator it is faced with at any given time. So far they have been known to mimic sea snakes, lionfish, flatfish, brittle stars, sea shells, giant crabs, stingrays, jellyfish, flounders, sea anemones and mantis shrimp among others.  I guess this just goes to show you that not everything is what it seems.  So be careful the next time you go to pick up a jellyfish because it may just be a mimic octopus!

If you are still curious and would like to see one in action then check out the video in the post below.

6 Comments

  1. I would like to know how does the mimic octopus know that the banded sea snake is one of the main predators of the damselfish? It is amazing how nature works!

    1. That is a great question and my answer would be that over time the mimic octopus has adapted and evolved to its surroundings. The things that worked got passed on through generations. The things that didn’t work ended up with the mimic octopus being eaten so it didn’t get into the next generation. For example, maybe at one time this octopus would mimic a starfish as the damselfish approached. If this shape didn’t phase the predator the end result would be the mimic octopus being eaten. Basically, trial and error with the techniques that work being passed down to the next generation.

      Thanks for the excellent question!
      Have a great day!

    1. Glad you are able to learn something new everyday from Wild Facts! I was pretty impressed with the talents of the mimic octopus. I originally had this post saved as a spare post (for those days where I am too busy to write) but I was just so excited about it that I had to post it today.

  2. Nathan – I really enjoyed this one, the video was awesome. I’ve never heard of this particular octopus, now I want to read more and compare it to a regular octopus.

    1. I know eh! This little creature really fascinates me. Not only can it change colours but shape and behaviour, it is the triple threat!

      I figured a video was required for this one since my ramblings wouldn’t do it justice!
      Glad you liked it!

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