Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Hawaiian Day Octopus striking a pose

Photographer of the above  comment:

I have photographed the Hawaiian daytime octopus on multiple occasions and have never seen anything like this. I was lucky enough to intercept this one as it was shooting across the shallows from one patch of reef to another. although it did not ink, after a quick dart to its left, it halted and took flower shape. I can only assume this was in attempts to intimidate me. the interaction only lasted a couple of seconds before it went to blend in with the reef, leaving me amazed.

They communicate via color change and also use it to imitate other creatures to for example look more threatening to a potential predator.

All octopi are beautiful. They're probably the closest things we have to aliens living in our biosphere. They have 3 hearts (2 for their gills and one for the rest of the body), over 200 suction cups in each limb, a ring-shaped main brain, and blue blood. Also, each of their 8 arms have a little bit of brain in them so they can explore independently from each other, and even function if they're separated!
They're also fiercely intelligent, can jet-propel themselves, and change the color and texture of their body to seamlessly integrate into their environment!

Nothing beats seeing an octopus up close, whether in an aquarium or in the wild, and being able to witness their otherworldly movements, appearance, and behaviors!

6 comments:

  1. Wow, this is a beautiful photo. I never knew all the facts about The octopus as I found out here. Gee....if I had a little bit of a brain in each of my limbs, it would be amazing. Did not know they communicate by color change. So many new things I learn by reading this blog.

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  2. This is awesome Linda. Like Myra I didn't know all of this. I know a few folks that could use those extra brains.

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  3. Good Morning Linda, this is the most beautiful photo I have ever seen of an octopus and how wonderful that in those few moments you were able to capture such a stunning photograph of this lovely creature. I have been watching the BBC Blue Planet series and octopus were filmed capturing their intelligence. If you ever get the chance to see this series I highly recommend it.
    Best Wishes
    Daphne

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  4. This is so, so very cool. Thank you for sharing the photo AND the information, which I did not know!
    I had the luck of spotting a juvenile octopus once, darting by me, while in Grand Cayman, more than 10 years ago. It was exciting.

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