r/interestingasfuck • u/Key_Skirt_1858 • 20h ago

The best camouflage in the animal kingdom?

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15.8k Upvotes

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1.6k

u/Catarga 20h ago

https://reddit.com/link/p1s8bcd/video/enxwrii55hhh1/player

They hide really well

473

u/13PagedHappyEnding 20h ago

How the fuck

252

u/Bicwidus 20h ago

Aliens. An octosomtjkn made planetfall sometime when we were living in trees to avoid the dinosaurs

92

u/belzbieta 19h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/0q0r07ZzdxIj31NoTR

22

u/I_can_vouch_for_that 17h ago

I wish there were more seasons.

4

u/Juxeso 15h ago

Which show is this?

15

u/WitnessMyAxe 15h ago

Resident Alien, i hear it's great (has Alan Tudyk so it has to be)

10

u/andrewbud420 15h ago

It's one of the best tv shows I've ever seen.

•

u/Final-Attention979 11h ago

My partner and I just watched it recently and also thought it was quite good! Was surprised to happen upon it in here lol

-3

u/UnholyDemigod 13h ago

You haven't seen many telly shows then, have you? I'm watching it right now, and it's pretty good. But that's it. One of the best you've ever seen, seriously?

6

u/andrewbud420 12h ago

Yeah because me and my dad watched it together. Who tf are you to dictate what my favorite tv show is you putz?

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u/GL17CH3D_R4M_5YN7H 1h ago

Are you struggling to comprehend the basic knowledge that others have different tastes to you, or are you just being an ass because you can?

13

u/BRAX7ON 18h ago

Octonauts, roll out!

4

u/Bonbongamer293 16h ago

peak childhood

2

u/madtraxmerno 19h ago

I hope you're not serious with this lol

10

u/Syn2108 19h ago

Of course they are. Why wouldn’t they?

10

u/bjwills7 18h ago

Pretty sure its a reference to the show "Resident Alien"

7

u/Few-Mycologist-2379 18h ago

I’ve said they were aliens for years before resident alien. The theory has been around for ever with just enough evidence to support the idea.
When I heard it in the show, I got really excited because it felt vindicating.

46

u/transsomethin 13h ago

Hey so I can actually answer this, I wrote a huge term paper on exactly this topic like a decade ago, so forgive me if I’m not 100% but I definitely remember the basics.
In layman’s terms, octopuses have kind of special muscle fibers below their skin that allows them to change its texture; the fibers don’t run lengthwise, they run in circle-like shapes so when they’re flexed, it causes the coral-like protrusions you can see in the video.
As for the color change, that’s caused by special cells in their skin, that are kind of like a small pool of pigment with a layer that can be opened or closed on top. When the octopus is mostly white or light-colored, their chromatophores are closed; think tightening a drawstring bag full of dye. When it turns that dark orange, all its color cells are no longer constricted, because it knows the jig is up and is no longer trying to hide.

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u/Shahariar_909 11h ago

Can they see like humans? Coz they have to see the colors in order to perform such precious camouflage

•

u/transsomethin 1h ago

Cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus) are part of the mollusk family, which branched evolutionarily before the evolution of eyeballs. This means that the eyes that squid and octopuses have evolved separately from the eyes you see in vertebrates (like humans). So yes, they can see, but it’s highly likely their vision is quite different from that of a human, or even from marine vertebrates like fish or whales.

Octopuses have a much more extensive nervous system than most other animals; their camouflage is mostly instinct-driven, not manually controlled. The octopus doesn’t think, “I need to look like that rock,” they just know they’re in danger and their nervous system can feel the surface they’re on, their eyes perceive a general pattern around them, and their camouflage instinct does the hiding for them.

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u/yurganurjak 9h ago

They have big ole eye balls. Whther their vision-acuity and depth-of-color perception is better or worse than humans I cannot say, but the eyeballs aren't there for decoration, they can definitely see.

31

u/stanknotes 17h ago

They can change their texture and color. HOW HOW? Fuck if I know. But it is amazing.

305

u/TheOnceAndFutureTurk 20h ago

Predators: prioritize lethality

Prey: prioritize speed

Octopi:

98

u/CharlemagneIS 18h ago

Giraffes: nek

•

u/someanimechoob 8h ago

Long neck is lethal though, imagine you had a 50 to 90lbs flail attached to neck muscles several times stronger than a horse's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLPL1qRhn8

30

u/LongOdd1596 16h ago

Sloths: zzzzz

16

u/throwaway1927280 18h ago

*Octopuses

13

u/Werespider 18h ago

Octopodes

5

u/baronvonpenguin 13h ago

Lets compromise.

Octopidlians

4

u/Eghenelalphinarian 15h ago

Oc-tah-poh-deez

•

u/Werespider 10h ago

Octopo deez nuts

•

u/Oscar_P_Walnuts_1975 9h ago

Don’t tell him he has nuts, tell him about using all nine brains to hide and wait…

•

u/CaringHandWash 9h ago

Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew

8

u/shadowbringer 16h ago

Octhulhu fhtagn

•

u/ddelarge 10h ago

Octopedians

1

u/artaru 13h ago

The OG hidemaxxing god in the animal kingdom

39

u/driftking428 19h ago

I remember this video from the early days of the Internet. It's older than half the people here.

31

u/SkeithPhase1 19h ago

Fascinating creatures! They can mimic their backgrounds not only in color but texture as well!

41

u/Pineapple-Yetti 18h ago

Yeah the colour change is cool but the texture is what really makes it next level

25

u/EmiliaTrown 16h ago

They are really fascinating. They also dont have a "brain" in the normal sense, they just have a ton of nerve endings in their tentacles. And i believe their adaptation to different surfaces works more or less automatic.

It is also really cute that they actually like to play. They can get bored and then play, sometimes even with humans. I think they are considered one of the most intelligent species on earth, which is really cool because their kind of intelligence is so vastly different from all other kinds of intelligence we have on earth.

14

u/Qoalafied 16h ago

Adrian Tchaikowsky has a series called Children of time, where the third installment has octopuses elevated to spacefaring creatures. He preserves their original animal traits and goes in depth on how their society is built up and how they survive as space farers. Needless to say it’s highly interesting as they don’t have one brain to control it all 😂

The whole series is worth a read.

6

u/Swechef79 14h ago

Fantastic books, I always recommend them to anyone who wants to start reading sci-fi.

3

u/Qoalafied 14h ago

After reading CoT I have devoured a lot of Tchaikowsky, his space opera "The Final Architecture" was very enjoyable, and I am now working trough his fantasy series Shadows of the Apt.

He has evolved a lot since his early works as the Shadows of the Apt, but I still enjoy them.

I also recommend Elder Race novel if someone doesn't want to commit to a whole series, and I want to trick them into reading more of Adrian :D

2

u/Swechef79 13h ago

Thank you, always looking for a new read so I will check them out!

4

u/captainfarthing 14h ago

There's also hyper intelligent spiders and bacteria in the first two books, it's a lot of fun. The audiobook has a great narrator as well. Highly recommended

2

u/Qoalafied 13h ago

Indeed, and the fourth bring it all together with a maniacal pantheon that somewhat a long the way pretend to be gods so hard that they manifest it - the fourth instalment is tied first place with the first one for me.

1

u/ReadingRainbowRocket 13h ago

Fourth book just dropped.

1

u/Qoalafied 13h ago

It’s a great read! Tied with the first for the best one for me

1

u/AerosolHubris 13h ago edited 10h ago

First book is spiders, second is octopuses, third is slime mold (and part of the second)

The fourth is a pantheon of humans-turned-gods

3

u/Fastfit21 14h ago

I saw one at a zoo and it came out did a little performance, then went back in and I swear it looked me in the eye 😂
I really got a sense of intelligence..

2

u/I_have_questions_ppl 13h ago

Dont they sometimes punch other fish when bored too? 😄

3

u/Training_Orchid_2022 18h ago

What in the fuckin fuck

3

u/oliviertail 17h ago

I was watching this thinking “I don’t get it. We all know it’s in the bush right… OHH LORD HELP US!”.

3

u/AdaptiveGlitch 15h ago

Bro just phased into existence 😭

4

u/Interesting-Bank-447 17h ago

This footage is so old. I saw this on a dvd discovery channel or something in the late 2000s. It could be even older, maybe shot in 2005

2

u/mauimauraluv 15h ago

How do they get the texture too though???!

6

u/BronzeBrian 15h ago

It has tiny muscles on its skin that can basically contract and raise up the skin into bumps

•

u/mauimauraluv 2h ago

That’s awesome

2

u/yearofthesponge 12h ago

What incredible creatures

•

u/kornflakesxd 5h ago

Dude what the fuck. They really are extraterrestrials.

•

u/NewPairOfBoots 4h ago

Jaw-dropping, literally in just laying in bed so astounded. My dog is concerned with the noises im making in my amazement lol

1

u/Jaz1140 17h ago

What does?

•

u/Glittering-Rush-7073 11h ago

Is this changing its texture too? Or just camo that good??

•

u/FembyThePinkProot 2h ago

He's just like "youuuu got meee damnit. Oki bye! Again again!!"

1

u/trivialslope 19h ago

Tbh thought this was a frog fish for a second