2023-08-13 23:00:00
The octopus is one of those members of the animal world that manages to fascinate us while slightly scaring us. However, even if it comes from the agonizing depths of the sea and has a physical appearance that is peculiar to say the least, the octopus is nonetheless an exciting animal to observe.
Eightfold intelligence
A common octopus has regarding 500 million neurons, so it approaches the intelligence recognized in some mammals, such as dogs. Unlike humans, who have around 85 billion neurons, those of the octopus are, for the most part, located in the tentacles and not in the brain. “The arms have their own sensors and controllers. They not only have the sense of touch, but also the ability to smell or taste chemicals,” explains Australian Peter Godfrey-Smith, philosopher of science, to the Nouvel Observateur. “Each sucker on an octopus arm has maybe 10,000 neurons to support taste and touch.”
pragmatic octopus
Octopus intelligence isn’t just regarding heightened senses. The animal is also very resourceful and is part of the small 1% of animals able to use tools. The coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus), for example, is able to use tools and manipulate objects, which is quite rare among sea creatures. Its name comes from its tendency to collect and carry coconut shells to make shelters.
Who is who ?
It is not uncommon for the octopus to be taken for an octopus that is sometimes called a squid… In reality, octopus and octopus are two different names for the same animal, namely a mollusc belonging to the class of cephalopods and to the order of octopods (for eight feet). “The octopus (or octopus) has eight arms and an entirely soft body except for its beak.” If the term “octopus” comes to us from “polypus” which means several feet, in Greek, that of octopus was borrowed from the fishermen of the island of Guernsey by Victor Hugo. The squid, on the other hand, is also a mollusc, but it is part of the superorder of the decapodiformes, understand animals provided with ten “arms”. Finally, while the squid evolves in the open sea, the octopus is a follower of the seabed.
Sacrifice ultime
In the world of octopuses, reproduction is a bittersweet act. This species reproduces indeed only once during its existence and then seems to let itself die. If the male stops feeding following mating, the female still has her work cut out for her. She must find a shelter where to hang her several thousand eggs in clusters and then not leave them until they hatch. Not only does it permanently protect them from potential predators, keep them airy with jets of water, but also feeds them by drawing on its own reserves, without sustaining itself. When the baby octopuses are ready for the big bath, their mother is then too weak to follow them and must resign herself to dying.
record breaking octopus
While the classic octopus weighs regarding 8 kg for more or less 1 meter in length, the weight of the octopus known as the Pacific Giant can vary between 25 and 40 kg for nearly 5 meters in length. The Guinness World Records even lists the largest specimen which weighs 136 kg with an arm span of 9.8 meters. Another peculiarity, the giantess of the gang has a life expectancy varying from three to five years, while its “common” cousin only has regarding two years to enjoy existence.
In your dreams !
Thanks to small pigmented cells present on its skin, the octopus is able to vary the patterns on the surface of its body. Inevitably, this ability offers him the possibility of camouflage in case of danger or during his hunt. These color changes also allow it to communicate with its congeners: when it is stressed, its color is not the same as when it is aggressive. Even crazier, these colorimetric mutations would also occur during his sleep. Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology have therefore come to the conclusion that the octopus … dreams! “In the calm phase, the animal appears white and immobile. But this rest is punctuated by periods very similar to waking, every hour and for one minute: this is active sleep”, indicates Sciences et Avenir. “She might relive, during her sleep, past experiences and thus reproduce the associated patterns…a bit like in a dream!”
Did you know ?
The octopus has three hearts that pump blue-green blood. It uses copper as an oxygen-carrying molecule instead of iron, which turns our blood red. Octopuses can recognize each other on condition of “topper” in the tentacle of their fellow. In 2021, “The Wisdom of the Octopus” won the Oscar for Best Documentary Film. Octopuses like to entertain themselves for pure pleasure. Some, detained in the laboratory, were observed playing with flasks. The game consists of throwing the object into a stream of water, in order to make it come out through the inlet valve of the aquarium, to watch it bounce.
This article appeared in the Télépro of 08/10/2023.
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