Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/02/terrific-overview-of-octopus-biology.html
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I’ve been lucky enough to observe a live octopus in the lab. They’re able to change color very quickly, because instead of using chemical signals, the color change is mediated by nerve impulses.
The octopus we were observing, close up, was perhaps nervous, because it was changing color from pale grey to black and back again, rapidly. What we saw was black stripes, perhaps a millimeter thick, chasing each other down each tentacle.
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What bugged me about the stories about octopuses “punching fish for no reason” is that the research enumerated a number of reasons exactly why they were doing so, even if, on a rare number of occasions, the humans observing couldn’t discern the reason.
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Yeah, what’s wrong with “Get the fuck away from me!”?
(Now I’m wondering if I am an octopus. One, two… no, apparently not.)
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Weren’t the Fish-Punching Octopodes a 1990’s punk band?
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I read that as terrifying overview at first.
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Great opportunity to post one of my favorite bits of science writing…
Edit: which I think I discovered on this here website back in the day.
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