You might be wondering who I interact with. Some guys I hang around are poisonous, like the lion fish, who has fins tipped with venom, and the sea snake, who has a venomous bite.
As you may have guessed, these are some of the animals I am able to imitate. I also live around jellyfish, stingrays, crabs, crustaceans, small sharks, barracuda, and flat fish (you humans don't seem to know any other animals in my community, except for the ones I eat, ones that eat me or ones that I mimic).
The sea snake, lion fish, flat fish, stingray, and jellyfish are all animals I mimic, meaning that our relationship is one in which I benefit, since that's how I evade predators, while they remain unaffected. This is referred to as commensalism. Again, since you humans don't seem to care about anything but my ability to mimic other animals, there isn't much information on species with whom I cooperate (mutualism). But there is this kind of parasite, the rhombozoan, that lives in octopuses kidneys and uses its cilia to pick out nutrients in our urine. This relationship, obviously, is parasitism, where one species benefits and the other is affected negatively.
A funny thing about a couple of my predator and prey relationships is that some of my predators are actually animals I mimic. One of those strange relationships is with the lion fish, which could count as a predator if I accidentally angered it or got too close to its venom-tipped fins.
I also am able to imitate the stingray, another one of my predators. Because of their stingers, they are also a less-desirable animal to approach, so they would be good to mimic in certain situations. In fact, one of us has probably used a strategy similar to ones we use to lure prey in order to evade a stingray: pretending to be of the same species (in this instance, a stingray) so that they don't see you as a foe (or a potential meal). That way, if luck is on your side, they won't notice how small and boneless and unlike a stingray you are, and will just pass on by.
Other than those animals, some of my predators are small sharks or barracuda. Depending on which hunter I am trying to trick, I imitate a certain foul tasting or venomous species. What I decide to mimic can depend on variables like proximity, the current surrounding environment and what food tickles that predator's fancy. For example, when being provoked by a damselfish, one of my kind was seen mimicking a sea snake.
But as I mentioned previously, I don't exclusively fool my predators. I like to trick my food, too.
Like yesterday. I was bored of foraging for easy-to-get food like tiny crustaceans and worms, simply probing various dips in the sea floor with the ends of my tentacles and waiting for the meal to be drawn to my suckers; I wanted a challenge. I decided to go for the little crabs I had been eyeing for the last few days. Unfortunately, when I swiped for them, they were fast enough to avoid it. And I didn't even have a second chance, since I had already frightened them away. But only an hour later, I spotted them once more. Instead of just going for it, I took a moment to think. I began to change colour, and practiced some crab-like movements before heading out and into the fray. And, just like I had wanted, none of them realized what I really was until it was too late.
Now that I look back on this, it does seem a bit cruel, but animals have to do what animals have to do. Is it not my duty to regulate the crab and crustacean populations? At least I'm not as bad as some other mimic octopuses, who actually imitate a crab wanting to mate (!!!), and right when a line of suitors starts to form...it's over before it even has time to begin, every last tiny crab consumed.
Thanks for listening! Next up, a shorter post.
The sea snake, lion fish, flat fish, stingray, and jellyfish are all animals I mimic, meaning that our relationship is one in which I benefit, since that's how I evade predators, while they remain unaffected. This is referred to as commensalism. Again, since you humans don't seem to care about anything but my ability to mimic other animals, there isn't much information on species with whom I cooperate (mutualism). But there is this kind of parasite, the rhombozoan, that lives in octopuses kidneys and uses its cilia to pick out nutrients in our urine. This relationship, obviously, is parasitism, where one species benefits and the other is affected negatively.
A funny thing about a couple of my predator and prey relationships is that some of my predators are actually animals I mimic. One of those strange relationships is with the lion fish, which could count as a predator if I accidentally angered it or got too close to its venom-tipped fins.
I also am able to imitate the stingray, another one of my predators. Because of their stingers, they are also a less-desirable animal to approach, so they would be good to mimic in certain situations. In fact, one of us has probably used a strategy similar to ones we use to lure prey in order to evade a stingray: pretending to be of the same species (in this instance, a stingray) so that they don't see you as a foe (or a potential meal). That way, if luck is on your side, they won't notice how small and boneless and unlike a stingray you are, and will just pass on by.
Other than those animals, some of my predators are small sharks or barracuda. Depending on which hunter I am trying to trick, I imitate a certain foul tasting or venomous species. What I decide to mimic can depend on variables like proximity, the current surrounding environment and what food tickles that predator's fancy. For example, when being provoked by a damselfish, one of my kind was seen mimicking a sea snake.
But as I mentioned previously, I don't exclusively fool my predators. I like to trick my food, too.
Like yesterday. I was bored of foraging for easy-to-get food like tiny crustaceans and worms, simply probing various dips in the sea floor with the ends of my tentacles and waiting for the meal to be drawn to my suckers; I wanted a challenge. I decided to go for the little crabs I had been eyeing for the last few days. Unfortunately, when I swiped for them, they were fast enough to avoid it. And I didn't even have a second chance, since I had already frightened them away. But only an hour later, I spotted them once more. Instead of just going for it, I took a moment to think. I began to change colour, and practiced some crab-like movements before heading out and into the fray. And, just like I had wanted, none of them realized what I really was until it was too late.
Now that I look back on this, it does seem a bit cruel, but animals have to do what animals have to do. Is it not my duty to regulate the crab and crustacean populations? At least I'm not as bad as some other mimic octopuses, who actually imitate a crab wanting to mate (!!!), and right when a line of suitors starts to form...it's over before it even has time to begin, every last tiny crab consumed.
Thanks for listening! Next up, a shorter post.