Thursday, January 5, 2012

Ocean Inspiration: Mimics

Opportunistic mimicry by a Jawfish. 
Rocha, Ross & Kopp. 2011. Coral Reefs. pdf.  doi.

"Jawfish are poor swimmers and usually spend their entire adult lives very close to burrows in the sand, to where they quickly retreat, tail first, upon sight of any potential predator (Smith-Vaniz 1989). In the photos
and video presented here, the Black-Marble Jawfish seems to have found a safe way to move around in the open. The Mimic Octopus looks so much like its poisonous models that it is relatively safe from predation, even when swimming in the open (Norman et al. 2001), and by mimicking the octopus’ arms, the Jawfish seems to also gain protection. "

 

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