In a groundbreaking study published on Thursday, researchers have discovered that octopuses possess an extraordinary ability to utilize any of their eight limbs for a variety of tasks including reaching, tiptoeing, and grasping. Kendra Buresch, a research biologist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and one of the authors of the study, explains, “These animals are incredible multitaskers, so they’re able to perform multiple actions on one arm and on multiple arms at the same time.” This unique adaptability sets the octopus apart from many other animals that often have specialized limbs for specific functions.
The findings, which were detailed in the journal Scientific Reports, shed light on how these famously flexible creatures execute some of the most intricate movements found in the animal kingdom. The study may pave the way for further research aimed at understanding the evolution of the octopus's neurologically complex motor skills, which could also have practical applications in robotics. The insights gained from octopus movement could assist engineers in creating soft robots designed for medical applications or for exploring hard-to-reach environments.
Researchers discovered that each octopus arm is capable of performing a full range of motions. Interestingly, octopuses tend to favor their front arms, using them approximately 60% of the time compared to their back arms, which are primarily used for movement. Overall, the cephalopods showed no significant preference between their right and left limbs.
To analyze these movements, a team from Florida Atlantic University and the Marine Biological Laboratory examined footage of wild octopuses captured in various locations including Spain, South Florida, and the Cayman Islands from 2007 to 2015. The researchers meticulously reviewed one-minute videos of 25 wild octopuses, breaking down the footage frame by frame, similar to how a football coach analyzes game plays.
Each minute of video took hours to analyze, leading to the cataloging of an impressive 3,907 distinct arm actions that involved 6,871 specific arm deformations. The researchers meticulously documented actions such as tucking, lowering, or rolling as the octopus engaged in various behaviors like standing or moving objects. This comprehensive inventory of arm movements is expected to enhance the understanding of the neural connections that enable octopuses to coordinate their arms in diverse combinations while also responding to environmental stimuli.
Octopuses possess a complex and not yet fully understood nervous system, featuring nerves that extend down each of their eight arms. Each arm is equipped with suckers that not only provide a sense of touch but also contain chemoreceptors that allow the octopus to "taste" surfaces through touch. Buresch elaborates, “If I’m an octopus, I’m using my arms to run over surfaces, stick them in holes in the seafloor, looking in crevices in coral heads or rocky ledges and feeling around in there, but mostly tasting around in there to see what’s happening.”
This decentralized nervous system is fascinating, as it contains more neurons in the arms than in the central brain. Buresch notes, “We’re all sort of starting to piece together the different parts of the puzzle that explain, How does this bizarre nervous system work?” The ongoing research into octopus arm movements and their unique nervous system continues to unravel the mysteries surrounding these remarkable creatures.
