Octopuses keep surprising us - here are eight examples how

[Judi Lynn]

By Lisa Hendry
First published 8 October 2018

Octopuses have blue blood, three hearts and a doughnut-shaped brain. But these aren't even the most unusual things about them!

Known for their otherworldly look and remarkable intelligence, octopuses continue to reveal astonishing qualities, abilities and behaviour.

1. More than one brain
It's a well-known fact that octopuses have eight arms. But did you know that each arm contains its own 'mini brain'?

Jon Ablett, curator of the Museum's cephalopod collection (including octopuses), tells us more:

More:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/octopuses-keep-surprising-us-here-are-eight-examples-how.html

[KT2000]

1. amazing creatures

sad about the self-sacrificing mother - 4 1/2 years gestation.

[SeattleVet]

2. They are truly amazing creatures.

I am honored to be able to feed them from time to time when I am volunteering at the aquarium, and have also interacted with them in the wild when SCUBA diving. We've had them open screw top jars and childproof pill bottles and undo nuts and bolts in their enclosure. I recently had one that decided that the feeding stick I was using would be a fun thing to try to climb, and it got an arm a few feet above the water and within inches of my hand. For an animal that has such a short lifespan (the Giant Pacific Octopus has the longest lifespan that we know of, and it is anywhere from 3-5 years) it has some amazing abilities to learn and adapt to its environment. They can recognize human faces, and some experiments have shown that they have long-term memory.

[Duppers]

3. Wow! Thanks for this info.

Fascinating. Too bad the poor things die so "young."

[Judi Lynn]

5. It would have been great to be there when you first recognized you were dealing with an intelligent

being with 8 legs!

What an experience you've had, learning something so important about "mere animals."

Thank you.

[LudwigPastorius]

4. I'm convinced they're actually aliens that were sent here to study us.

...and boy, are we getting a failing grade.