Re:Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters
by johnyzee on Tuesday December 15, 2009 @09:57AM
(#996553)
There was a story not long ago about an octopus in a German aquarium. Apparently, the museum noticed that a particular lamp was always broken. With the help of surveillance, they discovered that every night, an octopus in a nearby tank would climb his tank to an elevated position and shortcircuit the lamp by spitting water on it. The lamp had been disturbing the squid's sleep, causing it to take active measures.
They display extraordinary intelligence for such a 'different' creature. As far as I know their nearest related species is the spider, which also displays a very high degree of aptitude for its kind.
Re:Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters
by nailer on Tuesday December 15, 2009 @11:14AM
(#996735)
There's also soem great videos of Octopi solving mazes. What's particularly interesting is not that they win quickly, but that they cheat - 'choose your own adventure' style - extending one arm into each possible outcome, and only investigating those where the outcome allows further exploration.
They're amazing animals, and really blow away the whole concept of invertebrates not having great intellects.
Re:Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters
by willwagner on Monday December 14, 2009 @10:32PM
(#995802)
For a while, I was really into fishkeeping and really wanted to get an octopus as a pet. They are supposedly really smart and quickly learn new tasks (like the opening of a jar).
The problem with having them in a small tank is that they are amazing escape artists and can slip through the smallest of holes. Also as a downer, they typically live only 12-18mos and they can't be bred in captivity, so I eventually gave up the idea.
Re:Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters
by iamwil on Monday December 14, 2009 @07:56PM
(#995559)
Like snakes, different species--or if you'd like, different cultures of octopus have different methods of locomotion.
Also, I don't know if you noticed but when it was walking with the coconut, it changed its skin color to the color of the ocean floor to mask itself, and then when it tucked into the coconut, it turned itself dark, so it was hard to tell it wasn't an empty coconut.
Re:Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters
by enntwo on Tuesday December 15, 2009 @12:59PM
(#996984)
Very cool, but I have to question one statement from the article.
"""The coconut-carrying behavior makes the veined octopus the newest member of the elite club of tool-using animals—and the first member without a backbone, researchers say."""
What about hermit crabs, trap door spiders, and those crabs that build refuse that they find on their shells as camo?
In each of these cases the organism is using an external object(s) as a form of shelter/protection/camo, in the same way the octopus is. While we are more accustomed to them as they are common, there seems to be very few differences in behavior. We are simply seeing the first generation of a new trait amongst some octopi. Of course any new trait, especially one as nifty as this is cool, it seems like a stretch to call them the first invertibrate tool-user.
Re:Octopuses Carry Coconuts as Instant Shelters
by johnyzee on Tuesday December 15, 2009 @01:53PM
(#997099)
I believe the stated difference is that, contrary to e.g. the hermit crab, the octopus found the tool in one place, then took it somewhere else (to the other coconut half) in order to use it, exhibiting a planning capability beyond just taking advantage of the immediate surroundings.
It does seem a rather arbitrary criterion (trap door spiders seem to plan rather well too) but that is the reasoning they stated.
They display extraordinary intelligence for such a 'different' creature. As far as I know their nearest related species is the spider, which also displays a very high degree of aptitude for its kind.
Edit: Here's the story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328...
They're amazing animals, and really blow away the whole concept of invertebrates not having great intellects.
A cephalopod's ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod ) closest relative is an arachnid? I don't think so.
The problem with having them in a small tank is that they are amazing escape artists and can slip through the smallest of holes. Also as a downer, they typically live only 12-18mos and they can't be bred in captivity, so I eventually gave up the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9A-oxUMAy8
Octopus as a coconut rolling on ocean floor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wgla5smg64
Opening a jar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWF6d0nelY
Also, I don't know if you noticed but when it was walking with the coconut, it changed its skin color to the color of the ocean floor to mask itself, and then when it tucked into the coconut, it turned itself dark, so it was hard to tell it wasn't an empty coconut.
"""The coconut-carrying behavior makes the veined octopus the newest member of the elite club of tool-using animals—and the first member without a backbone, researchers say."""
What about hermit crabs, trap door spiders, and those crabs that build refuse that they find on their shells as camo?
In each of these cases the organism is using an external object(s) as a form of shelter/protection/camo, in the same way the octopus is. While we are more accustomed to them as they are common, there seems to be very few differences in behavior. We are simply seeing the first generation of a new trait amongst some octopi. Of course any new trait, especially one as nifty as this is cool, it seems like a stretch to call them the first invertibrate tool-user.
It does seem a rather arbitrary criterion (trap door spiders seem to plan rather well too) but that is the reasoning they stated.