Yay!! for clear underwater footage of unusual animals, (yes, even when they’re busy eating each other for lunch), via jtotheizzoe:
The Sea’s Strangest Square Mile
Sit back and let your eyes soak up this goggle-fogging journey to the Lembeh Strait near Indonesia by Shark Bay Films. It’s known as one of the richest homes of odd coral reef creatures on Earth.
Lightning-quick eels! Coral-colored, pregnant frogfish stuffing their bellies with wriggling prey! Baby cuttlefish!! BABY CUTTLEFISH!!!
(via kottke)
More animals with camouflage skills are hiding in the archives. Plus, cephalopods, because.
Like an elusive, caped creature in the ocean, a female blanket octopus glides through the water. We know this video is of a female of the species because she is around two meters (6.6 feet) long. In contrast, the male blanket octopus is less than 3 centimeters wide. Yes, centimeters!
Differences in males and females of a species is called sexual dimorphism, and can include size, coloring or ornamentation, form or structure, and behavior. A few examples of this include peacocks, peacock spiders, birds of paradise, lions, elk, and even humans. The BBC is a good start for further viewing.
This clip is from Oceans, a French documentary film by Jacques Perrin (released in the US by Disneynature). You can watch another clip from the movie here.
via Scientific American’s Octopus Chronicles.
Meet the mimic octopus, the first octopus found that impersonates other animals.
Living in the tropical seas of Southeast Asia, it was not discovered officially until 1998, off the coast of Sulawesi. The octopus mimics the physical likeness and movements of more than 15 different species, including sea snakes, lionfish, flatfish, brittle stars, giant crabs, sea shells, stingrays, flounders, jellyfish, sea anemones, and mantis shrimp…
But wait, there’s now a super-recent video of a mimic fish (a Black Marble Jawfish) mimicking the mimic octopus who mimics fish. #meta
via National Geographic.
Suddenly walking octopus videos are all over the internet! This one stands out because it’s so very tiny and cute! There’s a bit more at Octopus Chronicles as to why they might be found out of the water. (Hint: nom nom nom.)
Via NotCot.
