by Dr Mark Norman

Dwarfs, armdroppers, poisoners, spindly giants, sand-swimmers, smokers, camouflage experts and mimics. This list sounds like a circus side-show or a plot for a good science fiction movie.

Instead it refers to the behaviours and lifestyles of Australia's extraordinary array of octopuses, which range from pygmies the size of a fingernail to muscular giants with arms spanning three metres. Recent research suggests that Australian waters contain at least 60 octopus species, of which more than two-thirds are new to science. This diversity is far greater than so far reported for any other region of the world. By contrast the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas contain around 10 species each.

Little is known of Australian octopuses. The majority lack formal descriptions and many are known only from a few photographs or poorly preserved museum specimens. Recent advances in diving and underwater photography techniques are now providing our first glimpses of the incredible diversity in form and behaviour of these poorly known animals.