Mimic octopus

Photo: Kimberly Tripp Randal · CC BY-NC

Night dives at Shaab Claudia regularly produce octopus encounters, with both the common day octopus and occasional mimic octopus found hunting across the sandy lagoon floor after dark. Octopus hunt by rapid colour-pattern disruption to confuse prey, coordinating arms to herd small fish and crabs into an inescapable web beneath their body. The lagoon's protected sand habitat is ideal nursery ground, and juveniles the size of a golf ball are frequently seen emerging from rubble at depth during night dives.