Mototi octopus Oct 8, 2024

Today"s image features a creature with three hearts and the uncanny ability to change colour at will: the octopus. Octopuses are cephalopods, marine animals like squids and cuttlefish that have tentacles. Among their many species is the mototi octopus, pictured here. It was discovered in 1999 around Rapa Island in the South Pacific and is known for the "fake eyes" or ocelli—vibrant blue and yellow rings—between its eyes and arms. Found in the Indo-Pacific region, including Indonesia, Australia and Okinawa in Japan, mototi octopuses are masters of disguise. They usually have a dull orange-cream-brown colour but when alarmed, they can quickly shift to striking maroon with white stripes along their body and arms. Also known as poison ocellate octopuses, these cephalopods are highly venomous. But you don"t need to worry about running into one, because they tend to be shy and solitary, often hiding in crevices, shells or man-made objects like bottles and cans.

© Howard Chew/Alamy Stock Photo

palette

Today in History

Oct 8, 2023Veined octopus
Oct 8, 2025Octopus cyanea

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 1, 2024River Thames, England, United Kingdom
Jan 18, 2026White Sands National Park, New Mexico, United States
Jan 25, 2026Burns National Heritage Park, Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
Mar 9, 2024Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
Apr 7, 2026Beaver
Aug 24, 2026Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, United States
Jan 28, 2026Whanganui National Park, Retaruke, New Zealand
Oct 12, 2025Saranac Lake, New York
May 25, 2026Hawa Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Jan 9, 2024Rio Grande, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Apr 25, 2026Galápagos penguins swimming, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Jun 12, 2024Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA
Sep 1, 2023Turkey tail mushroom
June 20, 2026Arched iceberg, western Antarctic Peninsula, Southern Ocean
Mar 23, 2026Saguaro cacti in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona, USA
Apr 5, 2024The Bahamas
Dec 6, 2024Helsinki, Finland
Jul 27, 2025Barracudas at Shark Reef, Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
June 16, 2026Hawksbill sea turtle pair, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
June 15, 2026Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, United States
Nov 7, 2023Kirkilai lakes, Biržai Regional Park, Lithuania
May 11, 2025Leopard mother grooming her cub, Jao Reserve, Botswana
Mar 17, 2025Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin, Ireland
Aug 24, 2025European fallow deer, England
Dec 15, 2023SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
Jun 25, 2024Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA
Jul 15, 2025Great Basin National Park, Nevada, United States
Jan 24, 2024Diamond Beach, Iceland
June 14, 2026Mallard duck
Jun 14, 2025Cinque Torri, Dolomites, Italy