Tag

Octopuses

All articles tagged with #octopuses

environment1 day ago•3 min saved

Italy Deploys 130,000 Baby Octopuses to Battle Invasive Blue Crabs

Italy has released 130,000 baby octopuses along the Adriatic coast as part of the Octo-Blu project to curb an invasive blue crab population that has damaged clam production and fishermen’s livelihoods; scientists say mature octopuses could eat several crabs a day, and authorities hope this predator deployment will help save the fishing sector, which faces about €200 million in damages as the crabs continue to spread into markets and menus.

via New York Post|

#crabs #environment #fishing

science1 month ago•2 min saved

Octopus Brains Grow from Habitat Complexity, Not Social Life

A team analyzing 79 cephalopod species finds bigger brains are more tied to ecological complexity—habitat type, depth, and foraging rewards—than to social interactions, supporting a new asocial path to brain evolution and challenging the traditional social brain hypothesis.

via Nautilus | Science|

#brain-evolution #cephalopods #habitat-complexity

science3 months ago•8 min saved

Cretaceous Colossi: Octopuses as Oceanic Apex Predators

New fossil analysis of Late Cretaceous octopus jaws, aided by high-resolution tomography and AI, shows early octopuses reached up to 20 meters in length and were apex predators that crushed hard prey, pushing back octopus origins to about 100 million years ago and suggesting complex, early cognitive behaviors.

via SciTechDaily|

#apex-predator #cretaceous #jaws

science4 months ago•4 min saved

Giant ancient octopuses hunted with dinosaurs, jaw fossils reveal

Researchers from Hokkaido University analyzed Late Cretaceous finned octopus jaws found in Japan and Vancouver Island using high‑resolution tomography and AI. They estimate these ancient cephalopods reached up to ~20 meters and were top predators alongside dinosaurs, with jaw wear indicating repeated, forceful predation on hard prey. This challenges the view that invertebrates were minor players in the Late Cretaceous marine ecosystems and suggests giant, apex invertebrate predators existed in that era.

via Fox News|

#cretaceous #dinosaurs #fossils

science11 months ago

8 Animals with Unusual Blood Colors Beyond Red

The article explores eight marine animals, including octopuses and sea cucumbers, that have blood of colors other than red, highlighting the diversity of blood pigments in the animal kingdom.

via The Times of India|

#biological-diversity #blood-colors #marine-animals

science11 months ago•2 min saved

Octopus Arms: Versatile Tools for Complex Behaviors

Research shows that octopuses do not have a dominant arm but tend to use their front limbs more for exploring and their back limbs for movement, with no preference for right or left in the wild, highlighting their limb versatility and redundancy.

via KSL.com|

#animal-research #limb-preference #marine-biology

science11 months ago•2 min saved

Octopus Arms Show Task-Specific Preferences and Coordination

Scientists conducted the most comprehensive study to date on octopus limb use, finding that while they do not prefer one side over the other, they tend to use their front arms more for tasks like reaching and curling, and their rear arms for locomotion, demonstrating high flexibility and task-specific limb coordination.

via The Guardian|

#behavioral-study #limb-preference #marine-biology

science11 months ago•2 min saved

Octopus Arms: Versatile Tools for Complex Behaviors

A study analyzing videos of wild octopuses reveals they do not have a dominant arm but prefer using their front arms for exploration and their back arms for movement, with no preference for right or left in natural settings, highlighting their complex limb functionality and adaptability.

via AP News|

#animal-research #limb-use #marine-biology

science1 year ago•4 min saved

What Do You Call a Group of Octopuses?

Octopuses are generally solitary but can form groups called a consortium, especially in shared habitats like the underwater city Octlantis off Australia, showcasing complex social behaviors. The term 'octopus' derives from Greek, meaning 'eight foot,' and while 'octopi' is commonly used, 'octopuses' is the correct plural in English.

via AOL.com|

#collective-noun #marine-animals #octlantis

science1 year ago•2 min saved

Octopuses and Humans Both Fall for the Rubber Hand Illusion

Scientists in Japan discovered that octopuses can be fooled into thinking a fake arm is their own, responding defensively as if hurt, which suggests they possess a multisensory sense of body ownership similar to humans and mammals. This finding highlights the complex and independent development of their nervous system and offers insights into the evolution of body perception.

via ScienceAlert|

#animal-behavior #body-ownership #illusion

science1 year ago•5 min saved

Octopuses Experience Rubber Hand Illusion, Indicating Self-Awareness

A recent study shows that octopuses, like humans, can be tricked by the rubber hand illusion, suggesting they possess a form of body awareness and self-modeling despite their vastly different neural architecture, challenging assumptions about consciousness in animals.

via Earth.com|

#animal-cognition #body-ownership #octopuses

science1 year ago•3 min saved

Rubber Hand Illusion Demonstrated in Octopuses

Research shows that octopuses can experience the rubber hand illusion, indicating they have a sense of body ownership similar to humans, which could provide insights into the evolution of self-perception and have applications in robotics and understanding neurological disorders.

via Phys.org|

#body-ownership #neuroscience #octopuses

science1 year ago•3 min saved

Microbes Guide Octopus Parenting Decisions

A study reveals that octopuses can taste chemical cues from microbes on surfaces like prey and eggs, which helps them decide what to hunt or nurture, highlighting the role of microbiomes in animal behavior.

via ScienceAlert|

#behavior #chemical-signaling #marine-biology

science1 year ago•4 min saved

Octopuses' Arms Explore Microbial Life

Scientists discovered that octopuses use their arms to taste and detect microbiomes on surfaces, helping them identify prey and assess their environment, revealing a sophisticated microbial sensing ability that influences their behavior and interactions.

via The New York Times|

#animal-behavior #microbial-detection #microbiomes

science1 year ago•3 min saved

Octopus Camouflage: A High-Calorie Disguise

New research reveals that octopuses expend significant energy when changing color, comparable to a human's calorie burn during a 30-minute jog. This study, using ruby octopuses, measured oxygen consumption during color changes, highlighting the energetic cost of their sophisticated camouflage system. The findings provide insights into the biological trade-offs octopuses make for survival, as their color-changing ability is more energy-intensive than similar adaptations in other animals like chameleons.

via Livescience.com|

#cephalopods #chromatophores #color-change