Mimic Octopus

surfer_gurl

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Hey everyone, i just joined this site, i'm trying to find information on the mimic octopus if anyone has any information on the mimic octopus it would be very helpful to me. :notworth: i am in a science reasearch class, and my topic is "the behaviors of the mimic octopus." i am planning to go to a science fair and present this as my topic, you help would be great. :grad: [/b]

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Info:

On Exotic Species, especially the Mimic Octopus

Through television specials and documentaries The Discovery Channel it's ilk have brought some absolutely incredible cephalopods into the living rooms of the everyday family. These wonderous creatures feature vibrant coloration and behaviors so astounding that even the top scientists of the world are continually amazed. All of this is packaged into unquestionably the coolest class in the animal kingdom: the cephalopods. The Mimic Octopus has gained fame from clips of video showing it performing convincing imitations of sea snakes, flounders, lionfish and other odd sea creatures. Metasepia cuttlefish are known as flamboyant cuttlefish due to their spectacular coloration. Naturally, excited aquarists eager to keep one of these creatures in their own tanks have begun putting pressure on suppliers to find them, and many are willing to pay dearly for one. Mimic Octopus and Metasepia are extremely cool. Trying to get one of your very own is not cool.

Folks, simply put, these species are quite rare. Scientists spend weeks trying to find a single specimen to photograph and study. Five minutes of video footage shown on the TV specials can easily represent months in the ocean trying to locate a single animal. The trouble is, the collection divers native to these exotic oceans are better at finding them- especially if collectors are paying top dollar for them. With the species in question already being scarce and the bounty-driven locals catching every one they can find to be boxed up and shipped to America, the road to extinction will be a very very short drive for these incredible cephalopods. Here's the other side of the coin. Gang, they're still cephalopods- the most delicate of hobbyist-keepable sea life. Imagine how you'd ache after a 20 hour flight home from Indonesia. Now imagine making the trip in a gallon of water in a sealed bag. Truth is, most cephalopods- Mimics, Flamboyants, or anything from the opposite side of the world, die in transit. By most, I mean almost 100%. They lack the constitution to make the trip. This is the reason you don't see many Indonesian and Australian cephalopods gracing pet stores or online catalogs. Every once in a while however, one makes it.

I know a couple people who obtained a mimic octopus or a close relative including TCP's Dad, Dr. Wood. Therein lies the flipside to these marvelous animals: in the home aquarium Mimic Octopuses are VERY difficult to care for, and they don't display any of their famous mimic behaviors. In capitivity, they lead a life of stress and fear, never acclimating to their owners like bimacs or vulgaris' do. They feed only reluctantly and one must wait until the wee hours of the night to ever see their pet. Cuttlefish are the kings of skittish sealife, and many species are just NOT right for an aquarium. Contained in glass, they are doomed to slam into aquarium sides at cuttlefish warp speed every time a light comes on, a person looks into the tank, the cat walks by, etc. Their death will be slow and agonizing, as the wounds from slamming the glass (we call it Butt Burn) eventually infect and takes the life of the cuttlefish. It isn't fair to the animal when there are so many better cephalopod pets.

In response to this trend, The Cephalopod Page urges hobbyists to be responsible to the environment: please resist the temptation to seek out Mimic Octopuses and their exotic bretheren and leave these incredible animals to nature, and nature specials.



From: http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/sources.html
 
how about the angle that they dont mimic things and people are just seeing what they want????

sceptic me :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
Colin said:
how about the angle that they dont mimic things and people are just seeing what they want????

sceptic me :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I was just thinking that myself. Like the belief that they'll splay out their tentacles to mimic lionfish. That one seems a bit far-fetched. I certainly wouldnt have thought of it if i had seen one doing that.
 
They will also mimc flounders which are found in their natural habitat. Theres one video where it shows a person filming what he thinks is a pretty odd fish swimming but it turns out to be an octopus! The video was filmed in Indonesia, pretty close to where the mimic lives.
 
Burstsovenergy24 said:
The Mimic Octopus has gained fame from clips of video showing it performing convincing imitations of sea snakes, flounders, lionfish and other odd sea creatures.

... in addition to what Colin wrote (and I tend to agree with him), it is also possible that the snake, flounder, lionfish and 'other odd sea creatures' are mimicing the octopus (flip side).
 
... I mean, do we know for sure that the octopus is mimicing the others; which came first, chicken/egg, octopus/flounder .... who's copying who? Actually, there's an interesting thought; anyone know how 'old' flounder are (in the old fossil record)?

I don't believe that the octopus mimics flounder etc., nor do I believe that the flounder etc mimics the octopus .... It's just telly talk. Whatever eats the flounder would surely eat the octopus ...
 
Steve O'Shea said:
...Actually, there's an interesting thought; anyone know how 'old' flounder are (in the old fossil record)?

Er, just run a search. The flounder group (Pleuronectiformes) are a quite recent group, the earliest examples date from the middle Miocene in the late Tertiary. Octos have been knocking around since the late Jurassic, and possibly earlier. Flatfish rays are known from the earlier Eocene period at least 36 mya, though ray finned fish can be traced as far back as 200mya. I've no idea how closely these Miocene rays were related to the modern flounder.

Pleuronectiformes
 
Steve O'Shea said:
... I mean, do we know for sure that the octopus is mimicing the others; which came first, chicken/egg, octopus/flounder .... who's copying who? Actually, there's an interesting thought; anyone know how 'old' flounder are (in the old fossil record)?

I don't believe that the octopus mimics flounder etc., nor do I believe that the flounder etc mimics the octopus .... It's just telly talk. Whatever eats the flounder would surely eat the octopus ...

I do wonder what stuff in the mimic's habitat eats flounders? the whole place looks really empty.
 
... I mean, do we know for sure that the octopus is mimicing the others; which came first, chicken/egg, octopus/flounder .... who's copying who?

or to take it one step further. if they are such great mimics: is the octopus really an octopus? maybe it's a new flounder species who's great at imitating an octopus?

ok apparently it's time for my medicine again, I'm starting to talk crazy
:jester:
 
probably me,

my last theory is that chers last nose job went wrong and she's able to breathe under water now.

on the other hand, that wouldn't explain the extra limbs. unless... does anyone know the latest progress in plastic surgery?

:lol: :lol: :lol:
 

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