Octopuses are found in oceans worldwide, from shallow coasts to the darkest depths. The only hard part of their body is their beak, which they use to crack open crabs and clams for lunch. To protect their soft bodies from predators (animals that hunt other animals), octopuses have several tricks. They are masters of camouflage (the ability to blend in with the environment). They can change color, texture, and shape to avoid predators.
Octopuses have special organs, called chromatophores, that allow them to change color almost instantly. The organs contain small sacs of different-colored pigments. Colors include red, yellow, and brown. The sacs contract or expand to show more or less color to match the background. Octopuses also have special cells that reflect light, changing the shimmering colors based on the angle of the light.
Octopuses can change the texture of their skin, to mimic the texture of a rock or coral. They have small bumps on their skin that they can make larger or smaller to help blend in.
Camouflage is not the only way octopus try to fool predators. They also copy the shape of other marine animals that most predators avoid, such as lionfish and sea snakes.
What if these disguises are not enough? Octopuses will release a cloud of dark ink and use jet propulsion to make a quick getaway. Muscles squeeze an ink sac to cloud the water, making it hard for a predator to see. The octopus takes advantage of this moment. It takes in water and expels it through a siphon (a small tube that is narrower at one end than the other), blasting away at speeds of up to 25 mph!
What Can You Do? What other animals are good at blending in with their environment?
Photo Credit: (t)Douglas Klug/Getty Images, (b)Eugenieart/Shutterstock
