The Mimic Octopus - impersonates jellyfish, flatfish and snake and mystery shapes.

The mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) is a species of octopus from the Indo-Pacific region that is able to impersonate a wide variety of other marine animals. It is noteworthy for being able to change its coloring and contort its body to take on the appearance and behavior of several animals, including the lionfish, jellyfish, sea snake, a shrimp, a crab, and others. This new-to-science cephalopod is a master impersonator and can switch between its disguises rapidly.

Пікірлер: 114

  • @virginiacrawford7985
    @virginiacrawford7985Күн бұрын

    Extraordinary creatures. I stopped eating calamari once i realised how clever and sentient they are.

  • @misusatriyo
    @misusatriyo10 ай бұрын

    This is fascinating. They're really smart to be able-not just-changing colors, shapes, and behavior, but they also know exactly WHEN to impersonate something based on their circumstances. They may have the ability to actually do complex decision making.

  • @misusatriyo

    @misusatriyo

    10 ай бұрын

    Anyway, great video Indoona! New sub here!

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    10 ай бұрын

    Yes - I think we underestimate the diferently intelligent animals on this planet

  • @karenpriebe4135

    @karenpriebe4135

    7 ай бұрын

    I find them truly fascinating to watch I thought the mimic guise looked like a sting ray

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    7 ай бұрын

    @karenpriebe4135 that would be a formidable animal to mimic if you wanted to scare off potential predators!

  • @MrAmitkr007

    @MrAmitkr007

    3 күн бұрын

    It's not just color or behaviour, this is clearly advanced intellingence. Remeber just a century back, white scientists used to claim blacks were different species

  • @peterwarren1824
    @peterwarren182410 ай бұрын

    One of those imitations was definitely, the Hamburglar.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    10 ай бұрын

    Sounds like a dangerous creature!

  • @MrrrAdryan

    @MrrrAdryan

    3 ай бұрын

    😂😂😂

  • @TheCervelas
    @TheCervelas9 ай бұрын

    4:30 "nothing to see here , i'm just a rock"

  • @577buttfan
    @577buttfan6 ай бұрын

    God did a great job programming the DNA on these huh..very impressive.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    6 ай бұрын

    No doubt via the method called Natural Selection!

  • @577buttfan

    @577buttfan

    6 ай бұрын

    Good ole darwin

  • @tazika2988

    @tazika2988

    6 ай бұрын

    ​@@IndoonaOceans I didn't know Mr Natural Selection has such profound sense for aesthetics and humor.

  • @RawOne911-un3sj

    @RawOne911-un3sj

    Ай бұрын

    Amen

  • @LittleFuzzButt
    @LittleFuzzButt7 ай бұрын

    I am curious if they would ever attempt to mimic a human and if they did, how would it look

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    7 ай бұрын

    That’s a lovely thought

  • @bacon-sandwich4726

    @bacon-sandwich4726

    15 сағат бұрын

    octodad

  • @lisadooley3872
    @lisadooley38724 ай бұрын

    Okay now I feel stupid!!! But I am in love with this animal!!! It shows me that I still have so much to learn about everything!!!

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    4 ай бұрын

    Me too

  • @tazika2988
    @tazika29886 ай бұрын

    How could photographer resist playing with Mimic Octopus? After few photos I would leave camera (to someone) and start making weird shapes and moves, to see would he mimic me. Or mimic something he thinks would scare me? In my childhood we played a "mimic game", only without changing our colours. Could I make an Octo laugh at me, play with me, get offended IF I MIMIC HIM? Could I catch Octo's interest? There are friendly octopuses, are you sure this one just wants you to go away?

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    6 ай бұрын

    I think you are right that there’s lots more to know about the mind of the mimic octopus and yes it would be tempting to try and communicate with it. Similar experiments have been done with dolphins using underwater video to play back dolphin behaviour to them and note the responses. I would not be surprised that this is possible if a researcher were to spend months or years studying the mimic octopus. Yes I have had octopuses come to me while diving as if curious. There are ethical concerns with this sort of experiment and I think the best way would be to do it in the wild in shallow water in Sulawesi, Indonesia being careful not to disturb the animals too much ( so just watching interactions between octopus predators and prey) but the video playback might not be too interventionist. I would try a big mirror first - that could be interesting.

  • @peterstoric6560
    @peterstoric6560Ай бұрын

    I’m convinced that if octopi were social and survived mating they would be one of the most dominant animals on the planet

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    Ай бұрын

    Give them a few million more years !

  • @paulgee8253

    @paulgee8253

    13 күн бұрын

    They reach an amazing level of intelligence and sophistication in a usually very brief life. I think it has to be mostly inherited but they’re also incredibly curious too.

  • @backfru
    @backfru4 ай бұрын

    Well, I haveb't discussed it with the family yet - but we all agree that the first one is a free dinner at Americatown

  • @neoxpro12
    @neoxpro124 ай бұрын

    Woah I didn't even know they could change colours Thought they always had the black and white stripe on and were limited to black and white for its color changing pigment

  • @elizabethbowden3137
    @elizabethbowden3137 Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating stuff

  • @SomeOne-ti2cz
    @SomeOne-ti2cz4 ай бұрын

    This is the most fascinating thing I ever watched. These animals don't even think articulately like us, but in a way or another, they watch predators knowing that they bring fear, and modify their body to look and act like them, all this without having a language for articulating their thought process

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    4 ай бұрын

    Yes knowing the minds of others as this octopus seems to do is a big step on the intelligence scale!

  • @BinaryHedgehog1

    @BinaryHedgehog1

    24 күн бұрын

    Octopi have eight “mini-brains”, one in each tentacle, called “ganglia” which allow them to act both independently and in coordination with the others and the brain. Note that these ganglia aren’t capable of higher thought, just movement and basic sensations, but this means the octopus really only needs to worry about what it wants to mimic and the tentacles could take care of the rest.

  • @bryansansone3301
    @bryansansone33015 ай бұрын

    This one time an octopus mimicked a mostly black football team that proceeded to record a video or 7 with my wife. Nature is amazing.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    4 ай бұрын

    Not sure what to make of that but good luck!

  • @darthjuon4227
    @darthjuon42275 ай бұрын

    This music was made perfect for this creature 😃

  • @ka6hi
    @ka6hiАй бұрын

    perhaps those few unidentified mimicries could've been sea slugs, since they can be dangerous as well

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    Ай бұрын

    Great idea - the sea slugs or nudibranchs have lots of different shapes too

  • @gregmiller9710
    @gregmiller9710 Жыл бұрын

    purdy neat

  • @amyclare5377
    @amyclare53776 ай бұрын

    Coolest creature ever

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    6 ай бұрын

    Amazing yes

  • @JustAnBaconBoi3550
    @JustAnBaconBoi35503 ай бұрын

    Until soon it can shape shift into a human.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    3 ай бұрын

    There’s an idea! Would probably be more intelligent too.

  • @jamescharles1588
    @jamescharles15887 ай бұрын

    All it has to do is stay looking like an Octopus and get some blue rings covering its body. What messes with a blue ringed Octopus?

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    7 ай бұрын

    Good point although I read that sometimes moray eels and even seals will give the blue ringed octopus a go. You may know that nature’s mimics who do not actually have venom - like hover flies - require a certain percentage of real venom counterparts in the same environment (wasps, bees) for it to work as a deterrent to birds etc because when there are too few really venomous similar looking animals around the effect is too dilute for it to work on the predators. So at the very least for your theory to work real toxic blue ringed octopus would have to have the same range as the mimics - not sure they do? biologywise.com/batesian-mimicry-vs-mullerian-mimicry#:~:text=This%20is%20an%20example%20of,look%20similar%20to%20each%20other.

  • @jamescharles1588

    @jamescharles1588

    6 ай бұрын

    @@IndoonaOceans right - good point- maybe mimic a puffer fish? Too bad it can mimic a human- they scare away almost anything. Hahaha Humans are certainly the most destructive.

  • @hoytpollock6914
    @hoytpollock69142 ай бұрын

    They are fascinating very intelligent

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    2 ай бұрын

    Yes makes you realise there is more to life on Earth than we know

  • @kayalavardhanbros7062
    @kayalavardhanbros7062 Жыл бұрын

    I mean one of the mimicing seems like a mantis shrimp

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    Жыл бұрын

    That’s a good idea - I hadn’t thought of that. One big question is how do they decide what to mimic next?

  • @kayalavardhanbros7062

    @kayalavardhanbros7062

    Жыл бұрын

    I think the mimicing depends on the type of prey and the predator. For example if we notice the mimicking of flatfish , it is trying to show its threat to its predators, while when it's mimicing a crab or a mantis shrimp , it's trying to lure its prey , inorder to stroke them when they are in its range . Similarly in the middle zone it pretends to be a jellyfish, to avoid the middle zone predators , while it fails in case of reptiles like turtles so, it imitates a lionfish . So , finally I want to say that out of the marvelous creatures present around us , this is one of miracles gifted to it by mother nature.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    Жыл бұрын

    @@kayalavardhanbros7062 That's so amazing isn't it? ! It means that it is probably second guessing how the predator or prey will respond to its shapes and that therefore it knows a little about what it is like to get inside other creature's minds. How it learns is a mystery too - probably watching other mimic octopus - how else?

  • @kayalavardhanbros7062

    @kayalavardhanbros7062

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah I agree with you, but I think similarily how we learn to behave from seeing our surroundings and our elders , similarly I think it also learns from its experience , surroundings and its neighbourly octopuses of its kind .

  • @kayalavardhanbros7062
    @kayalavardhanbros7062 Жыл бұрын

    One is the mantis shrimp

  • @peterwarren1824
    @peterwarren182410 ай бұрын

    You can't mention the Wonderpuss and not have a video about the Wonderpuss.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    10 ай бұрын

    There is a brief shot of one in there but I’ll look for more footage and see what I can do

  • @Moishe555
    @Moishe5558 ай бұрын

    i think the unidentified one is a lobster with it's claws up

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    7 ай бұрын

    Good call!

  • @boogie1434
    @boogie1434 Жыл бұрын

    Hello Indoona, in a stroke of luck I finally found a scientific article that addresses the dragonfish bioluminescence that we discussed a few months ago! it's not about the one we saw in the NHK video but, one of the species the researcher did observe was Idiacanthus Antrostomus (which is either the one you filmed or at the very least is in the same genus). It's worth reading in full bc it answers some of our questions and I know I definitely can't do it justice in a single KZread comment. Just look up Luminescent Silhouetting of Stomiatoid Fishes by William T O'day

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    Жыл бұрын

    That's brilliant - thanks so much for getting back to me I will study it. - maybe it will be the inspiration for another video here!

  • @boogie1434

    @boogie1434

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@IndoonaOceans oh yes it is definitely video worthy

  • @paulgee8253
    @paulgee825313 күн бұрын

    It does seem this behavior is too complicated to be inherited but really almost has to be in dna. Short life spans it seems unlikely it could learn that stuff on its own that fast.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    12 күн бұрын

    That’s very true. Sometimes I think we put them into our own frame of intelligence when in fact they might have a totally different outlook. Maybe they can learn fast too?

  • @user-ob7zm7bh1w
    @user-ob7zm7bh1w2 ай бұрын

    “A” could be a snail?

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    2 ай бұрын

    Good one - will have another look. Not sure how on Earth they choose which one to do at any time!

  • @amyclare5377
    @amyclare53776 ай бұрын

    A...reminds me of a stingray

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    6 ай бұрын

    That would be a good one to imitate!

  • @josiahpurtee1156
    @josiahpurtee115611 ай бұрын

    1998 was 25 years ago

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    11 ай бұрын

    True - although relatively recent I think is fair and surprising since at least 50 years after the invention of scuba. Personally I still think it’s 1983!

  • @omarlago4372
    @omarlago43723 күн бұрын

    Sea Snail?

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    3 күн бұрын

    Good thinking- might do a side by side comparison video with these suggestions!

  • @Zephyr-lg5ne
    @Zephyr-lg5neАй бұрын

    3:11 it’s octoPI.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    24 күн бұрын

    People often write “octopi” instead because they assume that the plural noun is formed in the same way as Latin loanwords such as “fungus/fungi”. But “octopus” actually comes from Greek, where its original plural is “octopodes”. In English, it instead has the regular plural form “octopuses”. www.scribbr.co.uk › faqs What is the plural of "octopus"? - Scribbr

  • @jacekmaraj1774
    @jacekmaraj17744 ай бұрын

    the strange forms appear to be stingray or crabs too idk

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    3 ай бұрын

    Good idea

  • @alexandrapeacocke8907
    @alexandrapeacocke89072 ай бұрын

    who took these videos?

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    2 ай бұрын

    It’s stock footage from Videvo but I knew what it was as I have tried to film in Sulawesi at Kunkanan Bay where they can be found

  • @w00p1g9
    @w00p1g915 күн бұрын

    A or B maybe a lion fish?

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    14 күн бұрын

    That’s a really great thought- will compare

  • @mermaidathiraaofsweden4756
    @mermaidathiraaofsweden47563 ай бұрын

    Maybe a stingray?

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    2 ай бұрын

    Nice idea - I should do a follow up video with more suggestions like these

  • @tomasdegraeve440
    @tomasdegraeve4404 ай бұрын

    seastar

  • @AvatarAang-bf1sj
    @AvatarAang-bf1sj3 ай бұрын

    real life mystique

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    3 ай бұрын

    Yes it’s pretty incredible isn’t it

  • @danmiau3727
    @danmiau37274 ай бұрын

    sea snake

  • @tazika2988
    @tazika29886 ай бұрын

    How does Mimic Octopus know that sea snake is venomous? Without this knowledge, striped octopus looks way more dangerous then one of his striped legs floating around (a snake).

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    6 ай бұрын

    Good question- I think it doesn’t really know but if by mimicking the snake it survives then it will breed true and the trait will persist

  • @eclipsx8
    @eclipsx8Ай бұрын

    what is octupuses isnt it octupi

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    Ай бұрын

    I think it can be either

  • @debrapeasley2606
    @debrapeasley260610 ай бұрын

    I hope the footage of the octopus and the diver only makes it appear the diver is extremely close while he or she kept a respectful distance. No photo or video is worth stressing out a wild creature.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    9 ай бұрын

    It’s archive I bought in but yes it’s important to be respectful- although underwater photography often means getting close without stressing the animal- being alert to that is key

  • @elliot_rat

    @elliot_rat

    6 ай бұрын

    bro has the entire ocean to swim away to

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    6 ай бұрын

    @elliot_rat In theory but it probably likes home best like all of us!

  • @debrapeasley2606

    @debrapeasley2606

    6 ай бұрын

    @@IndoonaOceans Well said!

  • @julianjrobertson

    @julianjrobertson

    3 ай бұрын

    Right, no amount of yet discovered knowledge is worth stressing a fish out for. Not to mention the bazillions of fish we suffocate and eat...

  • @Xogroroth666
    @Xogroroth6662 ай бұрын

    How do they learn what to do, when to do it? I think it's genetic intelligence, passed down once conceived. Much like baby spiders knowing how to build "perfect" webs.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    2 ай бұрын

    Could be and a good observation about spiders and the complexity of their webs. It seems a lot to ask for genetics to make them adaptable to different predators and prey though.

  • @Xogroroth666

    @Xogroroth666

    2 ай бұрын

    ​@@IndoonaOceans Ask genetics to make what adaptable, sir? As for the observation, it's just logics and rational. Especially due to their short lifespans. 4 years is not quite much to learn what they know, or should know, correct, sir? Hence, it would be logical, intelligence in the Octopodæ Octopus and Sepioteuthis is from a genetic point highly probable? At least, that's what I assume. Like in Arachnidæ, where newly born can make nigh perfect webs, it is assumed, intelligence can be passed on. Now, memory, for one, is not mere stored in the brain, like many assume. It is stored allover one's body.

  • @Xogroroth666

    @Xogroroth666

    2 ай бұрын

    To prove this: A woman, who had a heart transplant, suddenly had a craving for whiskey. Odd, as she always had a dislike for the taste of good whiskey ... . Upon looking deeper, it so happened, that the previous owner of the heart ... had a real taste for good whiskey. And there are several cases like this recorded. We do not even know half of what our brain is, or does. Nor for the body in general, so it seems. We do not even know exactly what intelligence is, for that matter. Strange ... but true. :)

  • @Xogroroth666

    @Xogroroth666

    2 ай бұрын

    Also, thank you VERY much, for replying, good sir. Forgot to mention this.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    2 ай бұрын

    ⁠I like Auchentoshan single malt when I can get it actually and I’m pretty sure it’s my Scottish ancestry! Science of course never proves anything only supports or doesn’t a hypothesis about things. If many peer reviewed papers tend to suggest that a given hypothesis is true then that makes a consensus of opinion going with that hypothesis but one can never be completely certain about anything. That’s probably as it should be because life and the natural world are pretty complex.

  • @dougcolthar5244
    @dougcolthar52443 ай бұрын

    Since these creatures have a relatively short lifespan (around 9 months in the wild) and their survival depends on many of these deceptive transformations, it points highly to the intelligent design of a creator. God has given these creatures the innate knowledge they need. I urge anyone viewing this to appreciate the beauty of the one true God of the Bible. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior I urge you to repent of sin and turn to Jesus the Son of God and trust him alone for the forgiveness of your sins and live for Him. God does not want anyone to go to hell but if your sins are not forgiven through trust in Jesus and grace alone, not works, then you won't withstand the judgement of sin. Turn to Jesus, the God of all creation made a way for you to live forever in heaven and know his amazing love there and also in this life.

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    3 ай бұрын

    I don’t personally subscribe to any of that but must agree that these animals are truly amazing

  • @operationagartha3097
    @operationagartha30976 ай бұрын

    These guys can't be from earth

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    3 ай бұрын

    They do seem alien to us but I am sure we are to them too!

  • @AdnanKhan-yv7pk
    @AdnanKhan-yv7pk6 ай бұрын

    Just "evolution" without any "creator".😂😂😂

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    5 ай бұрын

    I am convinced it is evolution even though it may seem impossible if we look at it in the context of our short lives. The issue is it has been going on for over three billion years and that’s a huge time of course and our lives only a single snapshot in that and so it’s difficult to actually see it as it happens. In the Origin of Species the first chapter is about the selective breeding of fancy pigeons favoured by hobbyists for certain traits. Darwin asked what would happen if it was nature doing the selection instead of breeders. Any trait that confers benefits to the offspring will tend to survive better and hence breed another generation that continues and amplifies those beneficial characteristics. This is evidenced by the fact that young in the majority of cases are produced as variations of their parents in greater numbers than needed with the idea that only some or just enough of those variations with useful key traits will survive the present environmental conditions to breed the next generation. Over many millions of years that has shaped countless generations of mimic octopus with the trait to be able to mimic predators and prey because it is evidently an incredibly successful one.That is a science hypothesis with demonstrable evidence and not a belief like religion, which BTW you can have of course AND agree with the findings of evolution. Darwin himself was devoutly religious in his life ( less so after his young daughter died and he lost belief) and the two are not mutually exclusive- a spiritual understanding as well as an understanding of the physical world, but the first based on belief and the second on evidence.

  • @ka6hi

    @ka6hi

    Ай бұрын

    why couldn't a creator be intelligent enough to think of evolution??

  • @sangntiengviet7080
    @sangntiengviet70807 ай бұрын

    It almost look like starfish or something??? 2:24

  • @IndoonaOceans

    @IndoonaOceans

    7 ай бұрын

    Yes good thought. I image it would try that so that unsuspecting prey might not notice. The really interesting thing is how it decides to be what and when - how it knows the context of its encounters.