One of the most popular and interesting of the critters one
searches for in Lembeh strait are octopus. To non-divers, an octopus is often
regarded with fear as they can seem creepy or even dangerous, but once
encountered and curious beasts, even entertaining.
There
are so many different species, with new ones being identified on a regular
basis, that just knowing what one is looking at can be a challenge. Add to this
the ability to change color and texture and the task is all the more difficult. I have seen mistaken identification often in books and magazines, often with
two pictures showing different colour phases of the same animal labeled as two
different species.
Notice in the photographs how the blurring octopus can
change its colour from blending in whether on coral or Halimeda algae, to
showing warning colors – in this case the famous blue doughnuts. In the other
set of pictures, the rare and equally venomous mototi octopus shows not only
colour change, but texture.
Recent
global television coverage of one particular species, called the veined
octopus, has brought renewed attention to Lembeh strait. This species, commonly
called “coconut octopus” is seen often and has gained notoriety for its ability
to fashion a dwelling from matter found on the bottom, including pieces of dead
shells, bottles, cans, wood, sandals or whatever they find, though they seem to
favour discarded coconut shells, which are used as cooking fuel in the area.
Divers who have “met” this critter find it fascinating and now casual TV
viewers around the world have witnessed just one particular example of the
intelligence of this family. The recent TV story on this species was shut in
Lembeh strait and labeled it “the first ever filmed”, though hundreds of divers
visiting this area with video cameras have already taken extensive footage even
it they did not publicize their results.
Another very cool critter is the
hairy octopus, an undescribed species that in my opinion is just one of three
different species that all fall under the general title of “hairy”. Very shy,
they were seen commonly in Lembeh late last year and caused much excitement as
normally they are considered quite rare. Long-legged, they turn dark when
moving over open territory as they forage, sometimes showing stripes if
disturbed, but when on a rock or anything providing shelter, they like skin
tabs, transforming their appearance substantially.
The two “Stars of the Show” in
Lembeh are the mimic octopus and wonderpus. Both have just recently been
officially described and named – o. mimicus and o. photogenucus respectively,
because of their vivid striped patterns, it is thought that they have a
poisonous bite, as why else would they advertise their presence? It has
recently determined that they are closely related, though to those who learn to
tell them apart, they are in fact quite different. The wonderpus stands alone,
but within the mimic family, there are three distinct members- the mimic, brown
mimic and white-v, with the latter possibly more than a single species. All
living on the sand, they use different methods to hunt and some are active at
night while others are not, though all share white dots down the length of each
arm and a white “v” marking on the body.
The mimic and the wonderpus are
thought to copy other marine creatures as a method of defense. In fact, all
octopuses the world over are smart enough to mimic other animals and the best
copy-cat behavior I ever witnessed was a veined octopus looking quite like a
hermit crab. Swimming like a flounder is something all sand-dwelling octopus do
and I believe that it is merely owing to hydrodynamics that they move the way:
just to conserve energy. When threatened they usually just try to puff up and
make themselves as large as possible, which something many animals do (see the
picture of the wonderpus reacting to a curious fish). As an additional method
to deter predators, both mimics and wonderpus do perform obvious mimicry,
usually of a more dangerous inhabitant of the same neighborhood, copying a
wriggling sea-snake, swimming with fins splayed on different angles like
lionfish (both of whom have stripes as well), or bobbing in a hole like a
mantis shrimp. But many reports of copy-cat behavior seem to depend of the
perspective of the viewer and owes much to the imagination. But it centainly
makes for lively discussion on who saw what and keeps divers returning to find
new behaviors and new species in the critter capital of the world.
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