The longarm octopus can change their color and texture!
Can you find the octopus? The eyeball is in the center of the photograph. Once you find the eye, the rest of the octopus appears. As the name suggests, the longarm octopus are known for their long arms. Their arms can grow to around two and a half feet long. These octopus’s arms are usually around seven times the length of their body. As you know, octopus have hundreds of suckers covering their arms. Each sucker contains up to 10,000 neurons. Longarm octopus use these suckers to process their environment. These suckers do more than just feel around, they also are taste buds for the octopus.
This amazingly wild creature wins all the camouflage awards. Atlantic longarm octopus are able to change their color and texture to avoid detection. They use chromatophores in their skin to change their body color. Simply put, “chromatophores” are dynamic pigment containing cells. As the octopus crawls along the bottom, it is taking in data from its environment and changing its body color and shape to blend in. The Atlantic longarm octopus is difficult to find. They sometimes cover themselves in sand. Even if they are not covered in sand, they can generate a body texture and color that resembles sand. Longarm octopus use papillae in their skin to create these camouflage skin textures.
You may already know that octopus are extremely intelligent. They even perform mimicry to disguise themselves as other marine life. The Atlantic longarm octopus has been observed mimicking starfish and flounder. When mimicking the starfish, the octopus sits on the sand and spreads its arms out evenly like a starfish would. When mimicking the flounder, the octopus swims with its arms trailing around its body, to create a shape of a flounder (if looking from overhead). When it comes to camouflage and mimicry, octopus are the best. They can perfectly match colors, textures, and behaviors.
These octopus will even mimic other marine animals!
Where are they found?
Atlantic longarm octopus can be found throughout the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Florida (where this photo was taken). They can be found in shallow water, like this photo, and they can also be found in waters deeper than 500 feet!
Did you know?
Most species of octopus keep their eggs in a den. However, the longarm octopus will carry its eggs under its mantle until they hatch.
Aristotle wrote about the octopus’s camouflage abilities, circa 350 BC.
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