Mimic Octopus

Photo: Kimberly Tripp Randal · CC BY-NC

The mimic octopus, first described from Ambon Bay in 1998, actively impersonates toxic or dangerous animals including flatfish, lionfish, and banded sea snakes — selecting which model to mimic based on the species of threatening fish present. This dynamic behavioral mimicry goes beyond the passive camouflage common to cephalopods and represents the only documented case of a single animal mimicking multiple unrelated species. They hunt during the day over open sand and silt, their hunting forays offering divers extended observation windows unlike the nocturnal activity of most octopus species.