Mind the Tentacles: How Octopuses Outsmart Scientists (and Aquariums)
When you first think of an octopus, you’re probably picturing an animal with 8 tentacles floating around in the ocean. As unseeming these creatures may seem, they are one of the smartest animals in the ocean! Octopuses have a nervous system, which controls their movements, thought processes, memory, and more (Carls-Diamante, 2022). Octopuses are said to have two brains – one in their head and a complex net of massive nerves in each of their tentacles (Carls-Diamante, 2022). About 2/3 of an octopus’ nerves are in their tentacles, and this allows each tentacle to act independently or jointly with the others (Shamilyan et al., 2021). Let’s explore the capabilities and intelligence of an octopus!
Flexibility:
Octopuses use their flexibility in the natural environment to escape and hide from predators by squeezing into very tight spaces. For example, scientists have put a small octopus in a jar with a closed screw-lid. The challenge for the octopus was to escape the jar from the inside, which the octopus managed to do using its incredible flexibility (Mather, 2021). Since octopuses are immensely flexible, some octopuses have managed to escape from aquarium tanks by opening the top lid! In addition to their amazing flexibility, they have several other surprising abilities to survive in the wild.
Camouflage:
Octopuses are known for their abilities to blend in with their surroundings by changing their color to match that of their surroundings (Young, 2023). This ability to camouflage into their surroundings is a key survival mechanism to prevent predators from spotting them. However, octopuses also use their color-changing abilities to communicate with each other (Young, 2023). An octopus’ color changes based upon its mood and can be used to warn other octopuses of potential danger (Carls-Diamante, 2022). Octopuses often go on hunting trips together, but how do they remember their way back home? That’s where their navigational memory comes in!
Spatial and Navigational Memory:
Octopuses make their homes in holes in the seabed or coral reefs. They go on long hunting trips for food, often for days or weeks at a time for long distances before returning back home. They frequently take different paths home each time they go hunting, indicating they have incredible spatial memory on how to return home (Carls-Diamante, 2022). In addition, some octopuses have been seen putting rocks near their home as an identifier, like how people put numbers outside their homes or apartments to identify which residence is theirs (Carls-Diamante, 2022). Octopuses are more like humans than we originally thought!
In conclusion, octopuses are amazingly intelligent ocean creatures whose wit should not be underestimated. They are able to escape closed spaces using their flexibility, change colors at will to disguise themselves or communicate with other octopuses, and use spatial memory to identify where their homes are. Next time you go to an aquarium, check out the octopuses and see their tricks in action!
Citations:
Carls-Diamante, S. (2022). Where Is It Like to Be an Octopus? Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2022.840022
Mather, J. (2021). Octopus Consciousness: The Role of Perceptual Richness. NeuroSci, 2(3), 276–290. https://doi.org/10.3390/neurosci2030020
Shamilyan, O., Kabin, I., Dyka, Z., Kuba, M., & Langendoerfer, P. (2021, June 1). Octopuses: biological facts and technical solutions. IEEE Xplore. https://doi.org/10.1109/MECO52532.2021.9459727
Young, N. (2023, December 27). Exploring Problem-Solving Skills through the Octopus Mind – West Coast Centre For Learning. West Coast Centre for Learning. https://www.wccl.ca/problem-solving-skills/
