Octopuses are one of the most fascinating and one of the
most intelligent creatures that we work with at the Andaman Sea lab. Although
they are invertebrates (no internal skeleton) and closely related to snails and
slugs, they are probably the most intelligent of all animals without a
backbone.
Many experiments have been done that show that octopuses
have good short and long term memory. Their intelligence is high in both
finding their way through complicated mazes and in problem solving.
The deep sea Dumbo octopus is really very smart
Scientists here at the lab believe that the only reason
octopuses haven’t taken more dominant positions in the ocean is due to their
short life span of 1-5 years that limits their experiences and how much they
can learn.
Octopus unscrewing jar lid to get food
On one occasion we kept losing fish from an aquarium over
night; each morning another fish was gone. Eventually a trail of water led us
back to the octopus tank. We discovered that once the lights were out our eight
armed burglar was climbing out of his aquarium, across the bench, and into the
fish tank for dinner. When it finished off the fish it returned to its tank and
favorite cave. There are even stories of octopuses climbing on to fishing boats
to get at the boxes of crabs.
On another occasion we have seen an octopus ‘playing’ in
its aquarium with a floating thermometer. The octopus would drag the thermometer
to the bottom then let it go in the current watching it rise to the surface.
When it floated past again the octopus climbed to the surface and repeated the
game. He would do this for an hour or two and then start again the next day
playing with his toy.
This octopus is carrying a shell to hide under if it needs protection
Octopuses have been taught to distinguish shapes in order
to get a food reward. One example has been described of an octopus mimicking
shapes shown to it on cards by making “X” and “O” with its arms.
So, does an octopus have a big brain?
The answer is yes, for an invertebrate, but two-thirds of
the octopus’s nerve cells are in its arms. The arms are incredibly sensitive to
touch and the skin can be moved into odd shapes that look like seaweed or
gravel when the octopus wants to hide.
Even more complex is the ability to change colors and
patterns within one or two seconds. Special cells in the skin called
chromatophores contain yellow, orange, red, brown, or black color. Most
octopuses have three of these colors but some have four. Other color cells are
reflective (iridophores) and white (leucophores). The Blue-ringed octopuses use
the iridophores to flash warning circles to advertise its deadly bite.
A newly hatched octopus ready to start solving problems
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