Mimic octopus

Photo: Kimberly Tripp Randal · CC BY-NC

Described to science only in 2001, the mimic octopus is the only animal known to actively impersonate multiple other species in real time. At Aer Bajo individuals have been documented assuming the flattened, trailing-arm posture of a flatfish, the banded posture of a lionfish, and the coiled pose of a banded sea snake — switching between impressions depending on the approaching threat species. They are active hunters during the day and especially at night, quartering the sand in a systematic grid that divemasters describe as unlike any other octopus foraging style.