Animal Costume Party!

You might put on a Spider-Man mask to hide your identity. Similarly, some animals wear their own sneaky headgear. To blend into the seafloor, the sponge crab designs a hat out of a live sponge!

Sponges are simple organisms that filter bits of food from water. After a crab selects a sponge for a hat and attaches it to its body, the sponge continues to grow. The crab keeps trimming its disguise so it stays the right size. If a predator does spot the crab and takes a bite, the foul-tasting sponge makes it wish it hadn’t.

Perhaps you like to put on a Spider-Man mask to hide who you are. Some animals wear their own sneaky hats. The sponge crab uses a live sponge as a hat! This helps the crab blend in with the seafloor.

Sponges are simple organisms. They filter bits of food from water. A crab selects a sponge for a hat. The crab attaches the sponge to its body. The sponge continues to grow. The crab makes sure the sponge stays the right size by trimming it. A predator might still spot the crab and take a bite. But the sponge tastes bad. The predator will wish it hadn’t attacked!

The orchid mantis looks like a beautiful flower to catch insects. The orchid mantis pretends to be the flower of a plant called an orchid. The mantis attracts bees, butterflies, and other types of insects. The mantis grabs the insects when they get close.

Orchid mantises are predators. They have legs that look like petals. Their limbs can be a variety of colors. Their limbs might be yellow, pink, or white. The orchid mantis is proof that looks can be deceiving, even for a bug.

Have you ever hidden inside an object when playing a game of hide-and-seek? The veined octopus does something similar to hide from predators! It molds its squishy body inside two halves of a coconut shell. The octopus seals the shells together to create a protective shield. Even a chomping reef shark would struggle to break through the tough shell.  

Veined octopuses can even “walk” while inside the shell. They poke their tentacles out and scoot over the sand using small steps. This smart sea creature takes its coconut costume on the go!

Have you ever played a game of hide-and-seek? You might have tried to hide inside an object. The veined octopus hides inside objects too. Hiding this way protects the octopus from predators! The veined octopus’s body is squishy. It presses its body inside two halves of a coconut shell. The octopus seals the shells together. This creates a shield that can protect it. Even a shark would have a hard time biting through the tough shell. 

Veined octopuses can even “walk” while inside the shell. They poke their tentacles out. Then they use their tentacles to take small steps over the sand. This smart sea creature takes its coconut costume on the go!

It’s much easier to hide from predators when your entire body already looks like a plant! Leafy sea dragons are a type of bony fish. But they look more like trees than fish! They are born with leaf-shaped limbs sprouting from all over their bodies. 

Leafy sea dragons use their plant-like look to blend in with all kinds of underwater vegetation. They practically disappear into the seaweed and kelp forests where they live. Their thin, see-through fins are almost impossible to spot.

It’s easier to hide from predators when your body looks like a plant! Leafy sea dragons are a type of fish. But they look more like trees! Leafy sea dragons are born with limbs that are shaped like leaves. These limbs cover their bodies.

Leafy sea dragons blend in with many types of underwater plants. They live in seaweed and kelp forests. Leafy sea dragons nearly disappear among the leaves. Their fins are thin. You can see through them. This makes the leafy sea dragon almost impossible to spot.