Boy Nets a Killer!

Written by: Karisa Whelan, ulladullatimes.com.au

JOSHUA Carpenter was having a day out with his family at Lake Conjola when he made a surprising, and potentially deadly, find. Scooping through the waters of the lake to catch small fish, Joshua was surprised to lift his net and see something flashing blue, a deadly Blue-ringed Octopus.

Realising what it was, the seven-year-old called out to his parents, who rushed to his side and safely removed the small creature from the net.

Joshua's mother, Helen, said she was proud Joshua had alerted his parents when he realised he had caught the dangerous octopus.

"I was surprised and alarmed to see Joshua had caught the octopus as it was quite close to the shore and near our other children, one of who is only 16 months old," Helen said.

"Thankfully Josh knew what to do when he saw the octopus flash blue.

"We are really proud Joshua recognised it as a Blue-ringed, alerted us straight away and didn't play with it.

"I think it is a timely reminder for parents to be aware.

"I hate to think what could have happened if it had been a child who caught the octopus who didn't know what they had found."

After catching the octopus on Tuesday, February 2, Joshua's parents put the creature into a glass jar with methylated spirits giving Joshua a great item for show and tell at school.

The little octopus has since been shown in several classes at St Mary's School and Joshua said that all the kids who saw it had never seen one before.

Helen told the Times that both Joshua and his brother said there were a lot of questions asked by the students and teachers about where and how they got it.

ABOUT THE BLUE-RINGED OCTOPUS

DESPITE their small size and relatively docile nature, Blue-ringed Octopuses are currently recognised as one of the world's most venomous animals.

The creature can be recognised by its characteristic blue and black rings and yellowish skin.

It hunts small crabs, hermit crabs, and shrimp, and may bite attackers, including humans, if provoked or stepped on.

While there is no Blue-ringed Octopus antivenom available, people who receive immediate first aid are known to recover completely.

The toxin in a Blue-ringed Octopus bite blocks sodium channels causing motor paralysis and respiratory arrest within minutes of exposure, leading to cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen.

Blue-Ringed Octopus Video

Here's a great video of one of the world's deadliest - and most beautiful - creature, the blue-ringed octopus. There are great visuals of the blue-ringed octopus moving about the ocean floor, swimming, interacting with divers and other octopuses, hunting and eating, and transforming it's skin pigmentation.

Species: Atlantic Longarm Octopus

This clever little fellow might remind you of another species of octopus that we have explored. The Atlantic Longarm Octopus (Octopus defilippi) is a close relative of the Indo-Pacific Mimic Octopus.

As the name suggests, this species of octopus has incredibly long arms in relation to its body length. The arms are commonly around 30cm in length whereas the body is only about 6cm. The Atlantic Longarm Octopus can grow to about 36 inches or 1 meter in length when the body and arm lengths are measured. The arms are normally more than 7 times the length of the body!

They are quite distinctive with their reddish brown colouring and small white spots however as with many other species they are able to change their color and texture as the need arises. They have eyes high up on the head with a distinctive bump above each one.

The unmistakable eyes of an Atlatic Longarm Octopus
Atlantic Longarm Octopuses can be found in the coral reefs of Australia, Malta and in the Florida Keys. They prefer rocky environments and so frequent the lower areas close to the sea floor. Here, they feed by night on a variety of crabs which they catch with the help of suckers on their arms.

Like the Mimic Octopus, the Atlantic Longarm Octopus will mimic other creatures in order to avoid predation. It will swim along inconspicuously with its arms stretched back to look like a flounder. It has also been spotted with its spread its arms in a manner that makes it appear like a starfish.

The Atlantic Longarm Octopus sneakily swims along disguised as something it's not.
A fascinating fact that makes this species so unique is that females will carry their eggs under their mantle until they hatch. Most species of octopus find a safe lair to hang their eggs from to brood.

Funny Cyanea Octopus vs. Egret Video

The Cyanea Octopus seems to like its solitary life, and will use its unique ink power to keep it that way!

Watch what this sneaky Cyanea Octopus does to keep the moseying Egret out of its territory.