mimic octopus

English

Noun

mimic octopus (plural mimic octopuses)

1. An Indo-Pacific octopus of species Thaumoctopus mimicus, capable of selectively impersonating several other species of marine life.
   • 2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Granta Books, published 2013, page 229:

     The Mimic octopus, which was only discovered in 2005 in shallow Indonesian waters, can rapidly morph its body to resemble a flounder, a sea snake, a lionfish and almost anything else it sees.