What if all animals were as wonderful as the wonderpus?!
What: Wunderpus is the genus name for a wonder-inspiring octopus, the Wunderpus photogenicus, commonly known as, wonderpus.
Who: Divers in the shallow waters surrounding Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Mtaylasia, and the Philippines love discovering a wonderpus during a dive!
When: When the wonderpus is threatened by predators, the wonderpus changes its copper-brown color with white stripes and spots into the colors of its surroundings to disappear in the blink of an eye.
Where: The "wunder" in "Wunderpus" comes from the German word for "wonder," wunder.
How: How does a wonderpus change its colors? Find out in The Screaming Hairy Armadillo!
Why: Why the wonder? Just take a look at it! Keep in mind, in addition to all the super, cool wonderpus-specific characteristics, the wonderpus is also an octopus, so it also possess most of the same wonderful characteristics of other octopuses.
Huh: How can you tell two wonderpuses apart? Compare the patterns of white spots on top of their Y-shaped heads--now two wonderpuses have the same pattern.
Wow!: Not only can the wonderpus change colors, it can also change textures! This gives it a 3D camouflage ability that enhances the wonderpus's ability to blend in with its surroundings to hide from predators.
Keep getting curious about animals with The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and it's free Educator's Guide!
Thank you for your curiosity, stay curious, and let your curiosity lead your learning with more Curiosity-Based Learning content and activities from What If Curiosity!
* Cover photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/q-phia/35023785945
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