Mimicry is a very important part of survival of the fittest, both on land and in the sea. Usually we tend to notice mimic anemones transforming its appearance to look like a wide range of corals and algae, but today…
The Signal Goby: A Master Mimic with a Sketchy Captive Survival Record
The signal goby (Signigobius biocellatus), aka the twin-spot, two-spot, or crab-eye goby, is an appealing little sand sifter with fascinating behavior that, unfortunately, often adapts very poorly to aquarium life. Nonetheless, specimens still appear in the aquarium trade, so it’s…
Sea Cucumber Pretends It’s A Coral
Sometimes it seems like every creature living on a coral reef has at least one species which mimics it. Take, for instance, this juvenile sea cucumber, Thelenota ananas, which has mastered the art of being Pocillopora. Question is… can it…
The Saddled Toby: Puffer Personality in a Small Package
Sometimes good things come in small packages. Such is the case with Canthigaster valentini, better known as the saddled toby, black-saddled toby, or Valentin’s toby (you may also see “sharpnose puffer” substituted for “toby” in various sources). Reaching only about…
Survival on the reef part 1: Masquerading under false colours
Look at this amazing pair of Meiacanthus grammistes. Eh hmm…wait a minute. That’s not quite right. Look closer. Cardinal fish? Bingo. This is a pair of Cheilodipterus nigrotaeniatus and they are excellent mimics of their venomous fang blenny models. Mimicry is an…
The Sturdy but Shy Marine Betta
With its dark-brown body covered with a myriad of tiny white to pale-blue dots, the marine betta, a.k.a comet (Calloplesiops altivelis) is truly a dazzling sight to behold. Start out with a healthy specimen, and you’ll find it’s also a…
The Many Faces of Mimicry in Marine Fish
In the fish-eat-fish world of the coral reefs, it can sometimes be beneficial to look like something you’re not. This strategy, known as mimicry, is employed by a wide variety of marine fish and other organisms in order to garner…
Phyllodiscus semoni mimic anemone is almost cooler than its stony coral model
If we were swimming along a reef and saw this crazy creature we’d lose our cool at the sight of this incredible mimic anemone. Looking every bit like its stony coral model, this Phyllodiscus semoni is nearly indistinguishable from the…
Unique and weird jawfish-mimic octopus interaction videoed in Lembeh Straits
[vimeo width=”680″ height=”420″]http://vimeo.com/23317612[/vimeo] The video by Godehard Korp is certainly one of the strangest and most unique interactions between marine animals we have ever seen. The Mimic Octopus shown crawling on the muck reefs of Lembeh-Straits has a truly unique…
The Wrasse Blenny is exactly the kind of oddball fish you’d expect to find at Old Town Aquarium
it is invariable that any time we visit Old Town Aquarium in Chicago, we are bound to not only come across some cool fish, but some rare oddballs which we’ve never seen, and rarely even thought about. On this visit…
