Blue
ringed octopus is a small very dangerous creature.
It is small enough to
fit in an empty
sea shell
on the ocean bottom where it likes to hide.
It is rather shy
and doesn't
bother you unless you pick it up or step on it.
But if it does bother, it
has the
poison to kill 26 people in one go.
It is found in all the waters around Australia, including Cape York.
A good reason to wear
rubber boots when out on
the reef, and to be
careful with what to pick
up when
playing on tidal rock
pools.
Children are at a higher risk because of their small body size.
By Angell Williams via Flickr.com The
animal is
known for
its blue rings,
that are
actually
brown unless the animal is just about to poison someone.
Where
Is It Found?
This
animal comes in two different
species, which together cover all the coasts of Australia.
Down south
there is
the
Lesser, or Southern
Blue Ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena
maculosa), and up north we have the
tropical Greater Blue
Ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena
lunulata).
While
the southern species is only found in Australian waters, the northern
species is found along the coasts of northern Australia as well as
Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Indonesia and Philippines.
The animal is not often
seen because
it likes to hide on the sea bottom - in tidal rock pools
and
coral reefs. They hide in empty sea shells, clumps of algae and rock
crevices.
By CirclesOfLight via Flickr.com
What
Does It Look Like?
Greater blue ringed octopus is about the size
of a golf ball.
Like
other
octopuses, it has eight
arms.
Its body colour is beige,
much the same
as the sand that surrounds it.
On the sandy-coloured background, it has darker, brownish rings on
its body.
Those only go blue
if the
animal is agitated.
Unless
the
rings are blue, the animal is well comouflaged and not always easy to
see on the ocean bottom.
By Tom
Weilenmann via Flickr.com
Behaviour
Their biggest favourite is crabs,
but they also eat shrimp and other crustaceans, as well as small reef
fish.
They hunt during the day,
and
they are ambush predators,
which means that they sit in the same place and wait for the prey to
come to them, rather than the other way around.
They
usually
only emerge from their hiding spots to hunt or mate.
They are not aggressive and
only bite if
threatened or agitated.
This most often happens when they are picked
up or accidentally stepped
on.
Watch what your kids are picking up when playing in rock pools.
It is not only cone
shells that can be
dangerous to pick up. In some other shells, there may be a blue ringed
octopus.
By
Saspotato via Flickr.com
Bite
and Venom
Its bite is very small
and can be
painless. Some people don't even notice it before the
symptoms
start showing.
Its venom is tetrodotoxin - a kind of powerful neurotoxin,
which is
produced in the animal's salivary glands.
Tetrodotoxin causes
nausea, numbness,
weakness and
severe or even total paralysis.
The victim will notice breathing
difficulties which can be followed by respiratory arrest.
That will lead to cardiac
arrest
due to lacking oxygen in the brain, and can happen within minutes if
not treated.
By
Phil Camill via Flickr.com
Treatment
A
paralysed victim cannot
breathe, move or respond, but remains conscious
and can hear.
Ring an
ambulance, and while waiting,
* apply pressure
immobilisation
bandage,
in a similar way to snake bite. Every smart Australian has one in their
first hand kit in their vehicle (particularly on a Cape York trip!).
* breathing difficulties that start within
minutes have to be helped by rescue
breathing until the ambulance arrives.
Once the ambulance arrives the victim needs to be hospitalised for artificial respiration.
There
is no antivenin for treatment of the poison of blue ringed
octopus. The
victim's
body will actually, finally, get rid of this poison, but during the first 24 hours (at
least) it needs respiratory
support.
Once the poison is metabolised and the paralysis subsides the victim
will regain the ability to breathe.
By Saspotato via Flickr.com
There
have
been two reported
fatalities
in Australia from this poisonous creature.
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This site uses British
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Disclaimer:
Although
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website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.