The amazing intellectual abilities of octopuses

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Octopuses are the most famous representatives of the cephalopods. As can be understood from the name of the squad, these creatures have a head with eight tentacles emanating from it. Each of them has about 2000 suction cups. Octopuses have three hearts: one drives blue blood through the body, and the rest push it through the gills. Due to their soft body without a skeleton, some species of these creatures can completely change the shape of their body. For example, they can spread out on the bottom and become invisible, or simply pass through very small holes. These are truly amazing creatures, aren't they?

You may have also heard that octopuses are some of the smartest creatures in the world. Some people even dare to assume that these creatures came to us from distant planets. Nobody knows for sure, but their developed intelligence is a proven fact. But how did octopuses prove to have developed intelligence?

Who are octopuses?

First, let's talk a little more about the physical characteristics of octopuses. Depending on the species, the body length of octopuses ranges from 1 centimeter to 4 meters. The largest representative of this order of animals is the Doflein octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). Rumor has it that once people managed to see a 9, 6-meter individual, which weighed 270 kilograms.

With all this, octopuses cannot be called centenarians, because their life expectancy rarely exceeds 3 years. They feed on shellfish and fish, and live on the bottom of tropical seas and oceans. They often use sunken chests and even garbage as a refuge - we have already found out above that they can get even into very narrow places.

The intelligence of octopuses

Octopuses are rightfully considered one of the smartest animals in the world. Among invertebrates, they are considered the smartest - they simply have no equal. In the course of numerous studies, it has been found that these creatures are easy to train.

They also have a good memory, they can distinguish between sizes and geometric shapes. There were individuals who got used to the people feeding them and recognized them by their faces. Some people are convinced that if they spend enough time with octopuses, they can become pets over time.

Scientists often conduct experiments with octopuses - there are simply not many of them. More recently, the Octolab TV team, which is trying to learn as much as possible about these creatures, built a whole obstacle course for one of them. An individual named Rudy was selected for the experiment.

The choice fell on him because he is old enough to solve difficult problems and young enough to overcome obstacles. The authors of the experiment noted that the octopus was kept in each room for no more than a few minutes so that it did not begin to experience stress.

The octopus experiment was split into four parts and Rudy went through all the stages without any problems.

On the first level, he had to find a secret door behind bright algae and he easily found it. At the second stage of the experiment, the octopus had to go through a narrow tube and Rudy again found a way out. The third level was called "The Bridge" and, as you might guess, the octopus guessed what he needed to go through and did it successfully. To go through the fourth stage, the octopus had to press a button and have time to go through the opened door. Probably, it is no longer necessary to say that even here he showed himself from the best side?

New experiment with octopuses

And recently, octopuses have surprised scientists with their ability to endure physical pain. This is not just about a reflex to stimuli, but about a complex emotional state that leads to suffering.

Vertebrates, like humans, are able to emotionally respond to painful sensations. For example, if a living organism touches a hot surface, it will feel pain and this experience will cause suffering for a long time. The same thing happens with octopuses, and this is quite a big discovery for the scientific community. After all, octopuses are invertebrates with a relatively simple nervous system.

In the course of scientific work, the results of which were reported in Science Alert, octopuses were kept in a three-compartment aquarium. In one of them, they suddenly received an injection with burning contents. The researchers noticed that after such a traumatic experience, the octopuses no longer entered this compartment.

And individuals who were injected with a harmless substance freely walked between different parts of the aquarium. Scientists also noticed that octopuses seem to stroke the affected areas - in much the same way as people cover a wound with their hand. As you can see, there is much more in common between us and octopuses than it might seem.