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Blue-Ringed Octopus Video Stock Footage
The blue-ringed species are known for their small size, yet the southern variety is hailed as the largest of the genus. As a result, they have been classified as their own species. From arm to arm, most of these octopuses are no larger than 20 centimeters. This is larger by roughly 5 centimeters on average with other varieties of the blue-ringed octopus. When at peace, their coloring is often a drab, mucus like color. However, once it feels sufficiently threatened, the eponymous blue-rings suddenly appear.These octopuses have an average of about 60 rings that have multilayer reflectors that allow them to flash a blue green color. These rings typically appear about 6 weeks after hatching (Mäthger et al.). For the rings to illuminate and glow, the muscles around the rings must contract while the muscles above them must relax (Mäthger et al.). This method of muscle contraction and relaxation has not been seen in other illuminating animals (Mäthger et al.) Learn more about Blue-Ringed Octopus
View related species in family group: Octopus
Animalia: Mollusca: Octopoda: Cephalopoda: Octopodidae: Hapalochlaena maculosa