Welcome to the Marine Mili series, a regular column about all things marine! During this series I aim to inspire people to want to protect our oceans and all the marine life that call our oceans home. Hopefully after reading each column, you would have learnt something new including what we can do to help protect and preserve our oceans. You can follow me and my journey on my Instagram page: _marine_mili. 

Maori octopus are known for their large size and unique appearance. They typically are a red to brown colour and have little white spots all over their bodies. 

These unique octopus just like many other species are masters of camouflage with the ability to change their colour and texture so they can blend into their environment and protect themselves from predators. 

Maori octopus or the Macroctopus maorum can be found in the temperate waters of southern Australia. There are many local and friendly Maori octopus that you may be lucky enough to see if you are out diving around our coast.

There is a resident Maori octopus that lives at Rye that is regularly seen by divers. This octopus is said to be very friendly, and sometimes it gets curious and reaches its arms out to check out its visitors. But remember, never reach out to touch a Maori octopus if you do  get the chance to see one underwater. 

This species can grow quite large with their arms reaching up to three meters in length and their mantle (which is their body) growing to about 30 centimetres. 

These incredible creatures are one of the largest species of octopus in the world and are very strong. They can protect themselves from predators with their strong muscular arms and use them to trap prey such as scallops, various fish species and crustations like rock lobsters. 

Did you know that the Maori octopus' skin peels? Just like humans' basic grooming methods including cutting our nails or hair, the Maori octopus rubs their suckers all over themselves to peel the old layer of skin off, which helps them stay vigilant with processing sensory information.