Octopuses are shape-shifting, three-legged, literally blue-blooded creatures that have baffled scientists for decades.
They have a brain in each of their arms (because, by the way, they’re not technically tentacles) – arms that can pretty much change color at will.
And now scientists have learned that octopuses seem to have preferred hands for different tasks as well.
An article published in Scientific Reports found that while all octopus arms appeared to be equally useful, their owners preferred some to perform certain tasks over others.
Why do octopuses have favorite hands?
The researchers found that while all eight arms appear to be capable of 12 different movement patterns, as well as each other, the octopuses used their front arms more for exploration.
They did, however, prefer to use their back arms for movement. Movement patterns included shortening, lengthening, twisting, and flexing.
Dr. Chelsea O. Bennice , lead author of the study, said : “When we observed them in the wild, we saw that octopuses use different combinations of hand actions – sometimes just one hand for tasks like grabbing food, and other times multiple hands working together for behaviors like crawling or launching a parachute attack – a hunting technique they use to catch prey.”
She added: “When octopuses move through open environments, they skillfully use several weapons to remain camouflaged from predators, such as the moving rock trick or looking like floating seaweed.”
Their hand strength, flexibility, and adaptability are key to jobs like building dens, fighting off predators, and even competing with rival males, she continued in the field.
Researchers hope this will lead to more discoveries
Octopuses are previously inspired by machine intelligence and mobile robots in the field.
So it’s perhaps no wonder that Dr. Bennice said the paper could inspire further research in fields other than marine biology.
“Understanding this natural behavior not only deepens our knowledge of octopus biology, but also opens up exciting new possibilities in fields such as neuroscience, animal behavior, and even gentle robotics inspired by these remarkable creatures,” she told The Local.
