

Under normal circumstances, each ring is hidden by contraction of muscles above the iridophores. The fast flashes of the blue rings are achieved by using muscles which are under neural control. There are no chromatophores above the ring, which is unusual for cephalopods as they typically use chromatophores to cover or spectrally modify iridescence. Beneath and around each ring there are dark pigmented chromatophores which can be expanded within 1 second to enhance the contrast of the rings. These are arranged to reflect blue–green light in a wide viewing direction.

In the greater blue-ringed octopus ( Hapalochlaena lunulata), the rings contain multi-layer light reflectors called iridophores. If they are provoked, they quickly change color, becoming bright yellow with each of the 50–60 rings flashing bright iridescent blue within a third of a second as an aposematic warning display. Variable ring patterns on mantles of Hapalochlaena lunulata This, along with piling up rocks outside the entrance to its lair, helps safeguard the octopus from predators. Like all octopuses, they can change shape easily, which helps them to squeeze into crevices much smaller than themselves. īlue-ringed octopuses spend most of their time hiding in crevices while displaying effective camouflage patterns with their dermal chromatophore cells.
#Fake jellyfish tank uk skin#
They can be identified by their yellowish skin and characteristic blue and black rings that change color dramatically when the animal is threatened. Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus Hapalochlaena, are four highly venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans, from Japan to Australia.
