Indonesia/California/Gottingen - The infamous mimic octopus, known to
impersonate flatfish, lionfish, and sea snakes, now has an imitator
of its own.
The jawfish, a tiny fish that surely
would be eaten by almost any other animal in the ocean, usually stays
close to its burrow ready to retreat from any danger. It was noticed
in July of 2011 during a trip to Indonesia by Godehard Kopp of the
University of Gottingen (Germany) clinging to the octopus. The fish
was imitating an octopus that imitates another fish species. In
spite of how close it was to the octopus, the fish seems to be
unnoticed.
Kopp sent the video he made about the
jawfish to the people who discovered it, Rich Ross and Luiz Rocha of
the California Academy of Sciences. Because this behavior has never
been documented before they published it in the journal Coral Reefs.
They theorize the jawfish “hitches a ride with the octopus
for protection, allowing it to venture away from its burrow to look
for food—a case of 'opportunistic mimicry.' “
Dr. Rocha said about the discovery
"This is a unique case in the reefs not only because the model
for the jawfish is a mimic itself, but also because this is the first
case of a jawfish involved in mimicry. Unfortunately, reefs in the
Coral Triangle area of southeast Asia are rapidly declining mostly
due to harmful human activities, and we may lose species involved in
unique interactions like this even before we get to know them."
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