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Mimic Octopus — printable fact sheet
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Mimic Octopus
Thaumoctopus mimicus
The mimic octopus is the only animal known to impersonate several different species and to choose between them. It can flatten itself and ripple across the seabed as a toxic flatfish, bury six arms and extend the other two in opposite directions to become a banded sea snake, or …
Did you know?
- The Mimic Octopus can choose which animal to mimic based on the type of predator it faces, tailoring its disguise for maximum survival.
- It is the only animal known to impersonate multiple different species — flatfish, sea snake, lionfish — and to pick the right one. It reportedly mimics a sea snake specifically when harassed by damselfish, which sea snakes eat. It lives on open, featureless seabed where hiding is impossible, so pretending to be venomous is the only defence. Science did not describe it until 1998.
What I learned
Draw the mimic octopus
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