Rarely Seen Footage of Octopus Changing Color in Wales: A Wildlife Spectacle
Octopus Changing Color: A Fascinating Display of Wildlife
RARELY seen footage of an octopus changing color has been captured in a perhaps unlikely location: the shores of Wales. It follows the biggest boom in octopi numbers in the UK for decades. The video was recorded by the Marine Conservation Society’s Project Assistant Ciara Taylor on Menai Bridge beach, Anglesey. It shows several white tentacles wriggling out from beneath a rock. As the octopus reveals its head, its skin quickly changes to orange. “I met two other young people who were rockpooling and one of them saw some tentacles sticking out from under a rock,” Taylor explained. “They shouted over to me, so I ran over, and then we waited. It eventually came out and started crawling back towards the sea. We couldn’t believe it. It was an amazing reminder of the beautiful wildlife we have in North Wales and why we need to protect it.”
Octopus Behavior in Wales: Changing for Survival
An octopus changes color to better match their skin to different rocks and corals in an effort to hide itself from predators. While Welsh shores are far from the tropics where some might expect to see octopi – they are apparently more common than people think. Angus Jackson, Seasearch Data Officer at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “Curled octopus are found here all the time, and we get a handful of records every year. In contrast, we very seldom receive records for Mediterranean or common octopus.” The summer and autumn of 2022 were fascinating exceptions, where there appeared to be a boom in the population of common octopus, and we received many records. Octopi numbers jumped in 2022, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s Seasearch programme, which asks rockpoolers, snorkellers, and divers to record marine life. Experts reckon the conditions were just right that year for octopi to thrive, as the species doesn’t typically live longer than a year.
The Science Behind Octopi Changing Color: A Closer Look
Let’s imagine an octopus feels under threat. It uses its eyes to see the darkness, texture, and layout of a scene it’s in. Although it can only see in grey, it uses its pupils to distort light to get a rough idea of color. That information is then sent from its brain to the eight arm-brains that add color from thousands of cells beneath its skin. These cells are called chromatophores, and each of them has a tiny sac filled with either a red, orange, brown, yellow, or black pigment. Under the chromatophores is another layer of cells called iridophores, and these can reflect light back up through the octopus’ skin to make colors look brighter. All octopi lack blue and green pigment. Instead, they use the reflective capabilities of their iridophore cells to add shades of blue and green to their skin. Beyond coloration, the octopus can then make its skin match the texture of its surroundings – allowing for an even better disguise. Using small muscle bundles called papillae, the octopus can make its skin bumpy or smooth as needed.