📸 PhotoPhoto: Steve Childs · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Mimic octopus
Thaumoctopus mimicus (Mimic octopus · ミミックオクトパス)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum total length of 48 cm is about 1.6 times the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its mantle length of 5.8 cm is about the length of two Korean 500-won coins (diameter about 2.65 cm) placed side by side (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The mimic octopus is a tropical octopus famous for imitating the appearance of other venomous marine animals. It lives on shallow sea bottoms of the Indian and western Pacific oceans.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its maximum total length is 48 cm, and its mantle length is about 5.8 cm. It mimics the shapes and postures of venomous animals such as banded soles, sea snakes, and lionfish.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is active during the day and feeds on crustaceans and fish. It often uses burrows vacated by other animals as its home, staying in the same hole for about one to four days.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2019) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/87585522/87585525
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • marinespecies.org — aphia.php
- • iucnredlist.org — 87585525
- • wikidata.org — Q132999
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Mimic Octopus 1.jpg
- • sealifebase.se — Thaumoctopus-mimicus.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Kurtis Wothe · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Octopodidae)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.