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 us. Who knows, maybe you’ve
captured something new!
Both T. mimicus and W. photogenicus can have variable activity patterns, however T. mimicus is most often active during the day while W. photogenicus tends to emerge from dens at dusk and dawn, and forages in the early evening and morning.
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Thaumoctopus mimicus |
Wunderpus photogenicus |
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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.
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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
W. photogenicus mantle below. 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.
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Bright white “V” on the posterior mantle (outlined in
blue).
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No white “V” evident on posterior mantle.
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| Dark area below eye when viewed from the side.
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No dark area below eye when viewed from the side
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| Eyes
on short stalks. |
Eyes on long stalks |
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| Bright white line along base of
suckers.
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No bright white line along sucker base.
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See movie 28172 of Wunderpus photogenicus
on Tree of Life web
project
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| Reddish brown patch below eyes, but no reddish patch pulsing between eyes. |
One or two reddish brown patches pulse between the eyes |
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