The Boy in the Submarine – Season 2, Episode 1: Mimic Octopi

Mimic Octopus Image, CC-BY Elias Levy

The mimic octopus is sneaky! It can change its colour and shape to imitate other sea creatures. They have been seen pretending to be crabs, sea snakes, rays, jawfish, lionfish, anemones, coral, and more! They use this amazing power to sneak up on their favourite food, damselfish! They also have been seen foraging for food from whatever is sitting around the warm shallow water and reefs of the Indian Ocean and Pacific.

Mimic Octopi are so sneaky that while people have been swimming in waters where they can be found for centuries, we only discovered them in 1998, and only observed their amazing mimicry powers years later!

You can find mimic octopi everywhere from Indonesia to the Great Barrier Reef, and around Thailand, the Philippines, and even Oman!