Mimic Octopus Amed, Bali, Indonesia – July-August 2023 The sandy slopes of Amed bay, in East Bali, are home to a healthy colony of mimic octopuses (Thaumoctopus mimicus, a species first observed in 1998, in Indonesia) along with other fascinating, and often rare, cephalopods.
The mimic octopus is generally thought to imitate, or mimic, other marine species (especially venomous ones) as a general defense strategy, much like its cousin the Wunderpus, also encountered in Amed.
In this clip, you can see it imitating a flatfish / flounder - which is said to be its preferred guise when moving around - along with others, like the lionfish.
Mimics of the Amed colony also love to imitate local flora of algae leaves and tube worms when half-concealed in their burrows.
As also seen here, mimic octopuses forage for food either by probing holes and crevices with their arms to flush out potential prey, or by a form of ‘web-casting’, flaring out their arms over an area, much like an umbrella - to trap prey.
A Field of Blue : youtube.com/@afieldofblue 
Music Base: "Cocoon" by Björk 
Filmed on an Panasonic Lumix LX10 in a Nauticam housing, either in mixed light (UR-Pro Cyan filter, two Archon D11V 800 lumen lights with custom cyan ambient light filters) or in full ambient light 
