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country flag of Exploring photos of the Greater blue-ringed octopus taken in Philippines

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  • Greater Blue-ringed Octopus - Hapalochlaena lunulata Small sized Octopus, usually the body is less than 10 cm in size. This Blue-ringed Octopus is one of the most venomous animal in the world, with enough venom to 'kill' more than 20 adults.  However, they are non-aggressive and not likely to bite or attack humans. They used the venom to paralyse their preys, mostly crustaceans like crabs and shrimps which have sharp claws and pincers, otherwise the crustaceans could easily inflict some damages to the Octopus if they are not instantly paralysed.  When at rest, they do not show/flare their blue rings.  The 'blue' becomes more intense when it is moving/hunting or under stress, probably as a warning. Batangas,Geotagged,Greater blue-ringed octopus,Hapalochlaena lunulata,Philippines,Spring,anilao,octopus,scuba diving,underwater
    Greater Blue-ringed Octopus - Hapalochlaena lunulata
  • Cute Baby Octo This baby Blue-ringed Octopus - Hapalochlaena lunulata is around 1.5 cm, using the coin as size reference.
It was resting on substrate with blue colour, letting it camouflage well.

I only saw it when it was swimming/floating around and followed it as I knew it was an Octopus right away.
This was not the smallest Blue-ringed Octopus that I have seen so far, have seen a tiny one of less than 1 cm. Anilao,Batangas,Blue-ringed Octopus,Geotagged,Greater blue-ringed octopus,Hapalochlaena lunulata,Octopus,Philippines,Spring
    Cute Baby Octo
  • Greater Blue-Ringed Octopus - Hapalochlaena lunulata This Blue-Ringed Octopus - Hapalochlaena lunulata are small in size, up to 10 cm including the tentacles.
They are known to be one of the most venomous marine animals, with enough toxins to kill up to 20+ adult humans.  However, that does not means they are dangerous.  Being venomous and dangerous is two different things.

Like most cephalopods, they feeds mostly on crustaceans.  And all crustaceans have hard shells and sharp claws.  Cephalopods have soft body and when they hunt crustaceans, they also run a risk of being injured if they do not possess strong venom to immobilise the crustaceans. As such, they inject their strong venoms into the crustaceans to paralyse them within seconds, as a way to protect themselves, and once the prey is helpless and not moving, they can then slowly starts to feed on them.

In this regards, they are not likely to bite humans (scuba divers, snorkelers and beach goers) intentionally unless they are badly harassed and provoked.  I have seen video footages of local kids who are not aware of their venoms, handling the Blue-ringed Octopus, holding it in their hands and throwing it at each other without getting bitten.  Note, I am not condoning this actions, but just illustrating the false fears among those who are ignorant of this.

Check-out this video of local kids in Malaysia handling Blue-ringed Octopus : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLPXpluXnFE
 Anilao,Batangas,Geotagged,Greater blue-ringed octopus,Hapalochlaena lunulata,Octopus,Philippines,Spring
    Greater Blue-Ringed Octopus - Hapalochlaena lunulata
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