photogenic wonder

A Wunderpus octopus (Wunderpus photogenicus) in its larval stage. At this stage, it is transparent and drifts in the open ocean as plankton.

It was during a blackwater dive in Anilo in the Philippines that the Taipei-based photographer Wu Yung-sen encountered this rare specimen. The delicate baby octopus was exhibiting its brilliantly red brain within its translucent head. The Wunderpus photogenicus (literally meaning photogenic wonder) inhabits the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean south of the Philippines. The adults display an individually unique pattern of white spots and bands along their arms, mantle, head, and eye stalks over a rusty brownish-red background. They are able to contort themselves and change their color patterns when disturbed or threatened so as to either blend in with their surroundings or mimic some sea creatures like the venomous spiny lion fish to ward off their threats. However, the young larvae does not profit from this protective mechanism.

Wu Yung-sen

via {earth unreal}