Читать книгу Diving Indonesia Periplus Adventure Guid онлайн

94 страница из 170

Octopi. These familiar animals can be found on the reef, although they normally hide in small caves or crevices. They have no internal skeleton so are able to squeeze into surprisingly small spaces.

Chromatophores on their skin give octopi remarkable abilities to change color, which they do either to blend in with their surroundings or to display emotion. Some species can also change their surface texture, from smooth to lumpy and back, producing very believable imitations of shells, and even lionfish.

Octopuses are particularly fond of eating crabs and other crustaceans, and a pile of shells often marks a hole where one is resident. Normally an octopus crawls rather slowly across the reef, but it can also swim by contractions of its legs, much like an umbrella opening and closing. If disturbed, it can produce a short burst of speed by squirting water out of its large gill cavity through a muscular siphon.

Beware of the common, small blue-ringed octopi (Hapalochlaena) which can be found under rocks on the reef flats in Indonesia. Do not pick one up. They possess a very virulent poison.