Many arms - a photo on Flickriver

Many arms

            A Caribbean reef octopus (Octopus briareus), sighted on a night dive (you don't see them during the day) in a massive rope sponge (more on that below). 

They usually disappear into some crack or crevice the moment after they see your dive light. This one was found at the top of a huge rope sponge and stayed visible for some time, allowing me to capture many images. It was hard to decide which one to post!

Here, the octopus is in its iridescent blue. When it hunts it wraps itself around an object, like a blanket or tent, and instantly turns white with brownish-red spots. Its ability to change color, and to do it so quickly, is nothing short of magical. 

I think the octopus is clinging to a row pore rope sponge (Aplysina Cauliformis). You can't tell from this image, but this is a a huge specimen, covering something like an area of 4m x 3m and 2-3m high. At night we generally find 20+ trumpetfish tucked in it for their evening protection.

Some rights reserved

Taken in: BES Islands / Bonaire / Senkuria (show map)

Taken on: April 29, 2024

Tags:

Caribbean

octopus

reef

Bonaire

shore

dive

diving

scuba

underwater

sea

ocean

Atlantic

rope

sponge

night

red

blue

spots

tentacles

suckers

eye

cephalopod

Nauticam

housing

macro

100mm

Aplysina

Cauliformis

poor

row

pieuvre « less

Sets appears in: • 2024 - Mar Apr

Groups appears in: • BORN to be WILD • World Wildlife Showcase (Invited images only) more » • Illuminations Exposé • Illuminations in the Wild « less

Camera: Canon EOS R5, f/16.0, 1/160 sec, 100mm, ISO 500 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS R5
Lens:	EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Aperture:	f/16.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	100mm
ISO:	500
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.4 (Macintosh)
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