The footage, which shows a curled octopus changing from white to bright orange, was shot by Ciara Taylor of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). She was practising identifying sea creatures at the Menai Bridge beach in Anglesey on April 6 when beachgoers spotted tentacles appearing from under a rock. Ms Taylor, who is a project assistant at MCS, said: “I met two other young people who were rockpooling and one of them saw some tentacles sticking out from under a rock – they shouted over to me, so I ran over, and then we waited.
“It eventually came out and started crawling back towards the sea. “We couldn’t believe it. “It was an amazing reminder of the beautiful wildlife we have in North Wales and why we need to protect it.
” Curled octopus, also known as lesser octopus, can be found in the UK as well as European beaches. They live in shallow waters and feed on other marine creatures such as fish, crabs, shrimp, clams and mussels. On occasion, these creatures will use their camouflage abilities to ambush prey.
The curled octopus is very elusive and can spend most of the day hiding between rocks with its tentacles curled up. However, the species is thought to be increasing in numbers and experts believe this may due to a decline in their predators, such as cod, and rising sea temperatures related to climate change, which could be helping the species. The MCS’s Seasearch programme, which asks divers and beachgoers to record marine life, reported increased sighti.