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Photo of the Week: August 17, 2009
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| MATING MIMICS | |
| Photographer: Marty Snyderman | POTW: 2009-08-17 |
| Comment: Hi Gang! Ever since I first learned of the discovery of the mimic octopus in 1998 in Indonesian waters off the coast of Sulawesi, I had wanted to see one. Reaching an arm tip-to-arm tip length of only about two feet, the mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) is a relatively small animal, but it is an absolute giant of a talent when it comes to its ability to "impersonate", or mimic, other creatures. The typically thin, brown and white striped mimic octopus has the amazing ability to quickly alter its own shape, color and texture to make itself look like at least ten other animals. Amazingly, this group includes animals as varied in appearance as lionfishes, sea snakes, crinoids, mantis shrimps, stingrays, jellyfishes, brittle stars, crabs, flatfishes, and even great white sharks! Okay, I am pulling your leg on the white shark, but it seems like the mimic octopus can put one over on us anytime it wants as its ability to make itself look like another creature is absolutely astonishing. It is generally believed that the mimic octopus uses this ability to avoid predators by intimidating them or causing them to lose interest in them as a potential meal. When I first went to Indonesia several years ago one of the animals I hoped to see was a mimic octopus. It was my understanding that when they are encountered it is usually over a soft sand or mud bottom in the kind of area where one might make a "muck dive." So every time I had a chance to explore the muck, I was gung ho to give it a go, and lucky me, it didn’t take long before I saw my first mimic octopus. My wish had been granted, but I quickly learned that I should be more articulate when I am making a wish about what I want to see underwater. This animal looked really beat up. It was quite thin, missing a few arms and had a generally ragged appearance. I was quite happy just the same. We were diving over a bottom of soft mud where even the slightest movement would completely trash the area. I was trying to hold as still as possible as I hovered a few feet over the sea floor while watching the octopus make its way across the bottom. I decided to follow the mimic in hopes that it would soon transform its appearance and make itself look like some other animal. But that was not to be. I was in less than 20 feet of water so bottom time was not a factor, and I decided to stay with the octopus as long as I could as it slowly crawled over the mud. After about 45 minutes of moving at a slow, but steady, crawl, the animal suddenly picked up speed and moved toward a small hole in the sand. As the mimic reached the hole another much smaller, light brown octopus quickly emerged from the hole, and within a blink of an eye the smaller octopus had perched itself directly on top of the mantle of the mimic octopus that I had been following. My first thought was a territorial dispute of some kind or possibly an attempt at predation, but I quickly realized that this was courtship and mating, with very little courtship seeming to be involved. A few seconds later the smaller octopus, the male, "ran" down to the end of one of the arms of the female. While remaining in physical contact with her, he stayed in this position for a few moments. Then he extended a special arm that he placed underneath the mantle of the female. That arm is used to delver a sperm packet to the female. I was trying my best to photograph the event without moving and disrupting the behavior or trashing the water by kicking up any silt or mud. I was looking through my viewfinder and all of a sudden I could not find the male. It looked like there was only one striped octopus in my field of view. I lowered my camera in an attempt to see where the male had gone and as I did I quickly realized that the male had altered his color and pattern so that he looked almost exactly like her. Talk about a mimic, it was remarkable! I quickly resumed my photographic efforts. Roughly 30 seconds later the male once again changed his color and pattern back to a solid, light brown. He then approached the female’s mantle and the two locked arms for a minute or so. Then the male darted away and retreated into the hole that it had emerged from. I am told that the speedy post-mating departure of the male might be an attempt to avoid the potential cannibalistic efforts of the female. I have a series of interesting images from the mating event, but the photograph I chose to show is the one in which the male first "approached" the female. In the blink of an eye he emerged from the hole he was in and got onto of the female in the position you see him in now. That was the beginning of the mating event. On that dive I didn’t see a mimic octopus imitating another creature, but I sure got an eyeful. I hope you enjoyed this piece and this week’s POTW! See you next week! | |
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