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Project Noah Nature School
Hapalochlaena maculosa
Small octopus (This one is a baby) with bright purple patches advertising its extreme venom. It is hardly larger that a two dollar coin and displays bright purple rings when it feels threatened.
Rockpools and coastal waters around Australia. This was spotted under the San Remo bridge.
This very venomous octopus is responsible for only two deaths in Australia in 1954 (Darwin) and 1962 (Melbourne). It normally feeds on crabs and evenomates its prey by biting them.
Spotted on Jan 16, 2012
Submitted on Jan 16, 2012
27 Comments (1–25)
Thanks also vitthal and Daniel
Thank you Uday, Andrés and Leuba.
wow exelent photo!
totally missed this one - what a great find. Wonderful Martin !
SPECTACULAR¡¡¡¡
COOL¡¡¡¡
CONGRATULATIONS¡¡¡
welcome!
glad to know that yor are planning to join mollusk survey :)
Joined mollusca mission.
Thanks for your comments Shanna and Uday.
I plan to join in a mollusk survey this summer =)
Awesome.
wonderful!
Hi Martin. I hope you'll submit this beautiful spotting to the Mollusca mission. Here's the link: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/1214...
Thank you Kat and Joshua. This creature curls its arm tips when angry (like fists for fighting). It also flashes blue rings when angry, so I had to annoy it a little for this photo.
wow that's soooo cooool! great yob man!
Very well done!
Thanks blogie. You would notice that many marine species can flash colors as this one does.
Wow!! What a spectacular series!
I've updated the location data. I've actually not spotted this species before, even in the water=) so its quite exciting. I believe they are common. Thanks for checking my bad record keeping Argybee.
Fantastic find martin. You've been holding back. I haven't seen these since I was a kid. Always thought they were extinct by now in South Croydon :)
Seriously well done.
Congratulations, Martin, and please, be careful with those critters (I know you know how to do it, but...there isn't such thing as excessive caution...))
Thanks for you comments. This was certainly an exciting find
Wow grate find
Wow, a little critter definitely not to be messed with!
I have placed the octopus into a small white dish in order to get a clear shot. The last pic shows the octopus as i found it in a small rock pool. Then I released it again.
Wow! A James Bond flick cast member!! Get an autograph in "ink"...
haha..
very nice.
And how did you arrange him to take the photos? The light background is good for getting a good look.
I think people are bitten when they mistakenly handle them. They are usually about 10 cm wide including legs. This baby one is about 2.5 cm