OCTAPUS - GRAND CAYMAN ISLANDS - GRAND CAYMAN - NIGHT DIVE---------------------This image was taken on a night dive; this fellow was out foraging for dinner. His favorite delicacy is shelled sea snails, which are mostly nocturnal. This highly intelligent cephalopod moves about the reef like liquid mercury, pouring him self from one place to another with ease. A master of magic and mystery, his slight of tentacle a highly tuned art of disguise, deception and escape, Houdini would have given a fortune to own this magicians bag of tricks. Able to change color, skin texture and shape in less than the blink of an eye he can perfectly blend to his surroundings and background so as to make himself invisible, one glance away and he is gone. When alarmed he will expel a cloud of opaque black ink and poof he is gone like a water propelled rocket, much like David Copperfield but no cheap trick on his part. The octopus is a liquid creature in a liquid medium. He can collapse his body and pass through cracks only millimeters wide. This cephalopods only ridged structure is his beak located around the mouth. Preying mostly on shellfish, mollusks and the occasional fish, he can crush the hardest of sea snail shells. Highly intelligent and very curious they will approach you to discover what you are about. Tenderly reaching out with one tentacle gently curling it around your finger or arm to see if you are acceptable food. If you come upon a small burrow or rock hole and you see a neat pile of shells at the door you will know you have found the home of Mr. Merlin the octopus. Sometimes you can find them inside man made items that have been discarded into the sea such as bottles old tires or a tin can. Having millions of color cells in their skin allows them to change color as well as pattern to match their surroundings. Often if alarmed they will flash a variety of colors and patterns faster then you can almost see them, going from dark mottled brown, to pure white to crimson red, or green and olive. Changing skin texture from smooth to rough too bumpy as the colors change. They can also change shape to mimic another species such as a sea horse. All species can inject venom into their victim, some more toxic than others. Do not be fooled by its size. There is a small species in the South pacific oceans called a blue ringed octopus with small iridescent blue rings. The venom from this species is fatal, attacking the nervous system immediately and causing paralysis of all limbs and muscles including the heart and lungs. It is best not to handle any octopus and least of all the blue ring. Once entangled by one it can be most difficult to extract them given all the legs with suction cups firmly gripping you. Encounters with most are never fatal, and there is no foundation for the myth of them dragging you off to some lair for consumption. This also applies to the Giant octopus of the north pacific waters, some weighing in larger than a full-grown man. So intelligent and adept at escape they have been known to get out of locked aquariums. They have been documented removing the lid from screw top jars to get at a prey contained within. Very curious they will often hang around and follow you down the reef keeping a watchful eye on what you are all about. You will often see them popping up out of a hole or burrow to see who is in the neighborhood. Glassy golden eyes with a black slit pupils peer about for food or danger. Always amusing it is worth keeping an eye peeled for these class clowns of the reef.