A tourist has shared images of her holding a tiny ocean creature - completely unaware that it is one of the most dangerous in the world.
TikTok user @Kaylinmarie21 showed a snap of the small octopus, which has a brown body with dark circles, in the palm of her hand during a trip to Bali, reports the Mirror.
But after taking the picture, a quick Google search revealed that it was a blue-ringed octopus - which carried enough venom to kill 26 humans.
Information available online also noted that people do not realise they have been nipped by the tiny creature until it is too late.
A description online said that their bites are ‘almost painless’ and there is no anti-venom available.
Publishing findings on the effect of being bitten by the deadly creature, Ocean Conservancy says: "First, the venom blocks nerve signals throughout the body, causing muscle numbness.
"Other symptoms include nausea, vision loss or blindness, loss of senses and loss of motor skills.
"Ultimately, it will cause muscle paralysis —including the muscles needed for humans to breathe, leading to respiratory arrest. There is no known antidote, but victims can be saved if artificial respiration is started immediately."
The video was captioned: 'Going to Bali and unknowingly holding one of the most dangerous animals ', adding: "Called my dad crying 3 hours later". Thankfully, she was unharmed.
The clip has been viewed more than 2.6 million times as people were left horrified over the frightening incident.
One commented to say: "Seriously my HEART DROPPED. Oh my gosh, I have secondhand horror over this. Glad nothing bad happened!!"
A second wrote: "I've watched enough Animal Planet to know that beautiful animals with bright colours are no touching zone."
And another added: "That's why you don't mess with wildlife, it's not there for our entertainment and it doesn't care if you're being nice."
