Many
things live beneath the briny waves of the sea. There are gigantic things and
miniscule things, colorful things and bland things, things of all imaginable
shapes, and things with seemingly no shape at all. There are things that are
capable of great feats of athleticism, and things that stay in one single spot
for the duration of their existence. There are things that have graced the
pages of countless books for many generations, and there are things that no
human eyes have ever viewed.
And there is one thing down there that just may blow your mind away.
And there is one thing down there that just may blow your mind away.
The
Mimic Octopus is not a very large animal. At his largest, he is about 2 ft (60 cm) in length if you include those long arms. In his regular
form, he’s also not particularly exciting in appearance. He just kind resembles
the rest of his cousins and relatives.
Yet this otherwise unobtrusive
little character has the most incredible and amazing ability ever discovered.
Consider, for one moment, the piece
of furniture you’re sitting on as you read this. Imagine having the ability to,
instantly, take on its form, color and texture. So if you see someone coming
you just don’t want to talk to, you can take on the exact form of a desk chair
so he can look directly at you and never even know you’re there. Or, better
still, you can take on the form of a skunk so he suddenly wants very much to
walk rapidly in the other direction.
That could be a very handy skill to
have – especially if that undesirable fellow happens to be on his way to see
you because he wants to eat you for lunch!!
The Mimic Octopus can pull off just
such a trick! He is equipped with just the right muscle structure and skin
cells to allow him to take on many different shapes, any number of colors and
patterns, and switch his skin from slick and smooth to lumpy and bumpy – and all
completely at will.
Among the creatures in can imitate
are the broad, flat Sole Fish, the brightly striped and showy Lion Fish, and
the long, skinny Sea Snake. That’s quite a range of shapes and sizes, to say
the least! And as if that weren’t impressive enough, the Mimic Octopus can even
change it’s coloration to imitate such inanimate things as coral, rocks and
seashells.
Now here’s the most amazing part. The
Mimic Octopus does this on specifically seemingly for the purpose of evading
would-be predators. Scientists surmise this because each and every creature the
octopus mimics (except maybe those rocks and seashells) are poisonous! What
better way to make yourself look less like lunch, then to imitate poison!
More than that, there are some
reports that the mimic octopus has been observed deliberately changing into the
most feared enemy of the predator in question. So if it’s being attacked by a
kind of fish that is often eaten by a sea snake, it will make itself look like
a sea snake! It’s hard to imagine how he could know which predator matches
which creature. He is, after all, just an octopus. But if it’s just a coincidence,
it’s a really good one!
And, once again, I find myself
shaking my head in amazement at the things with which we share this planet!
The
world of the sea is simply one of the most amazing places in the whole world.
Wouldn’t you just love to somehow be able to wander around down there and explore?
See what else Mother Nature’s got hiding deep beneath the waves?
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