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Diver Gets Too Close to an Octopus, Camera Catches Aftermath

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While diving off the coast of Florida, a man named Mario experienced a close encounter of the octopus kind he will not soon forget.

Mario explored a diver’s paradise off Delray Beach. With opportunities to view tropical fish such as trumpetfish, trunkfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, and blue tang, as well as coral and other invertebrates, the wonders of creation are on full display.

Mario discovered this when he spotted a camouflaged octopus.

As he inched closer, the octopus abandoned stealth mode and unleashed its secret weapon: ink.

The diver seemed visibly confused. The octopus succeeded in evading him, leaving only a dark wispy cloud where it once hid.

This was the creature’s intention exactly. The camouflage trait is a unique defense mechanism which allows an octopus to escape predators that are almost certainly faster than they.

The ink, known as cephalopod ink, is a combination of melanin and mucus. Most animals related to octopi, including squid, are also able to produce and use ink.

The purpose of the ink is twofold. When the cloud is released, it often remains in a rough shape thanks to its mucus component.

Would you be brave enough to go near an octopus in the wild?

In murky or dark water, this shape looks like the octopus itself. Using the thick and obscuring property of the ink, the octopus is able to escape with an effective smokescreen tactic.

Nice!

Letting free an Octopus while throwing melanin (ink)

(Photo from Flickr: Dimitris Siskopoulos)

For a nearly boneless and slow animal with no other defenses, ink is literally a lifesaver.

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But not all octopi are reliant on ink. Some, such as the blue-ringed octopus, possess tetrodotoxin, an extremely potent neurotoxin. Tetrodotoxin is 1,000 times more powerful than cyanide.

Even a small scratch from this octopus could cause death in a strong adult. This species is native to Australia.

Blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa) (8593173385)

Mario was fortunate to be vacationing in Florida instead. This amount of curiosity in the land down under could have placed him in a morgue rather than a viral YouTube video.

H/T Tribunist

What do you think of this interaction between diver and nature?

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Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard and is a husband, dad and aspiring farmer.
Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He is a husband, dad, and aspiring farmer. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard. If he's not with his wife and son, then he's either shooting guns or working on his motorcycle.
Location
Arkansas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Military, firearms, history




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