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Presented here with permission:
IDENTIFYING THE MIMIC
OCTOPUS (Thaumoctopus mimicus
Norman and Hochberg, 2005) AND WUNDERPUS (Wunderpus photogenicus
Hochberg, Norman, and Finn, 2006)
All photos were taken in
North Sulawesi, Indonesia with a Canon Powershot A620
(underwater housing, built in flash)
Text, images and video ã Christine Huffard 2006.
Hopefully these quick hints
and photos below will help you identify the “Mimic” octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus, Norman
and Hochberg, 2005) and Wunderpus (Wunderpus photogenicus Hochberg,
Norman, and Finn, 2006) from photos or video.
If you’re still unable to identify an octopus in question, please feel
free to email me (chuffard at mbari
dot org). Who knows, maybe you’ve
captured something new!
Both T. mimicus and Wunderpus can have variable activity patterns, however T. mimicus
is most often active during the day, while
Wunderpus tends to emerge very slowly from dens in the sand at dusk and dawn,
and forages in the early evening and morning.
Thaumoctopus mimicus
Norman and Hochberg, 2005
Border
between pale and dark brown areas on the T. mimicus
is subjective. The dark areas are
mottled, making it difficult to identify where they begin and pale areas end,
especially on the side of the mantle.
Pale areas connect, while many brown areas can be dark “islands” of
color.
Bright white “V” on the posterior mantle (outlined in
blue).
Dark area below eye when viewed from the side.
Bright white line along base of
suckers.
Shades
of maroon are sometimes visible under the eyes of T. mimicus
however they are under rather than between the eyes and they do not move.
Eyes
are on short stalks.
Wunderpus photogenicus Hochberg, Norman, and Finn, 2006
Pale white/yellowish markings on a rusty brown
background. The edges of these
markings are clear. For example, I have easily
traced the border between the rusty brown background and the pale areas of a
Wunderpus mantle. Each of these pale and
brown areas is fairly uniform in color, even on the side of the mantle. The brown background is solid, leaving no
isolated dark patches.
White “V” not evident on posterior mantle.
No dark area below eyes when viewed from the side
No bright white line along suckers
One or two patches of red pulse between the eyes of
Wunderpus.
Eyes
are on long stalks.
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Thaumoctopus mimicus |
Wunderpus photogenicus |
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Mantle markings |
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Mantle markings outlined in red |
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Side of mantle |
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Eyes |
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Suckers |
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Reddish markings |
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See movie 28172 of Wunderpus photogenicus on Tree of Life web project |
