Molluscs
Mimic octopus
Thaumoctopus mimicus
Harmless🌊 0–25 m📏 up to 60 cm⏳ up to 1 yearsIUCN status: Not evaluated
Epipelagic zone
Able to imitate the appearance and behaviour of some fifteen different species, including venomous fish and sea snakes, to fool its predators.
🗺️ Geographic range
Coastal sandy seafloors of the Indo-Pacific, notably in Indonesia.
📊 Population
Discovered only in 1998; no global population estimate is available yet.
Habitat
- Pacific Ocean · Coral reef · Epipelagic zone · Permanent
🥚 Reproduction
Poorly documented.
Behaviour
- Diet
- Small fish, crabs and worms, flushed out of the sand.
- Hunting
- Hunts out in the open on sandy seafloors, compensating with defensive mimicry.
- Communication
- Visual mimicry as its main means of defence.
- Social life
- Solitary.
Physiology
- Anatomy
- An elongated body striped brown and white, extremely flexible arms.
- Respiration
- Gill respiration.
- Vision
- Highly developed.
- Adaptations
- Fine muscular control allowing it to mimic the shape and swimming style of several different species at will.
🔗 Web of marine life
Predators
⚡ Its extraordinary abilities
- Able to imitate the appearance of about fifteen different species, including venomous fish
- Chooses which species to mimic based on the predator detected nearby
🏆 Records
The highest number of mimicked species known in a cephalopod(unverified)
Able to mimic around fifteen different marine species according to observations.
If you cross paths with this animal…
Risk: None.
Behaviour: Discreet, moves about in the open on the sand.
Advice: Only scientifically described in 1998, and still actively studied.
💡 Did you know?
- Only officially described by science in 1998, in Indonesia.
- Can adapt its chosen disguise to the detected threat: a lionfish against one predator, a flattened sole to flee across open ground.
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