Octopuses Are Almost Like Aliens

Yet their brains may have become complex similarly to the way ours did

Hiya!

I gotta tell ya, I’m pretty excited for everything scientists are learning about animals lately — and by “lately,” I mean the last couple of decades. Octopuses, specifically, seem to reappear in the headlines. Remember in 2020 when My Octopus Teacher came out on Netflix? I admit it opened my eyes, along with everyone else who watched it, to how remarkable these animals are.

Octopuses are intelligent creatures, but they’re also about as different from humans as you can get. Yet somehow, despite our differences, we have a few behavioral similarities.

Some Facts

If you haven’t seen the Netflix documentary mentioned above, or don’t know much about octopuses, then allow me to tell you some cool facts… after I tell you some relevant basic ones.

Firstly, octopuses are cephalopod mollusks belonging to the order Octopda which consists of over 300 species. They range from just a couple of inches to over 17 feet in size. They’re also introverts and tend to live solitary lives, mostly spent hanging out in rock crevices and dens.

Now for some cool facts. Octopuses are masters of disguise and can instantly change their skin’s color and texture to warn off predators. One species of octopuses named Thaumoctopus mimicus scares off predators by impersonating their predator’s predator.

Octopuses are also impressively intelligent. In 2009, scientists learned that at least one species —Amphioctopus marginatus, known as veined octopuses — use tools. Specifically, halved coconut shells, that had fallen to the ocean floor, as portable shelters. This might not seem like a big deal, but octopuses are the first known invertebrate (animals without spines) to use tools.

Though octopuses are capable of more than just using tools. They can solve mazes and expertly manipulate objects — including unscrewing jars — to achieve their goals. Octopuses also know how to intentionally discriminate while making decisions, and evidence shows they’re capable of at least some complex thinking. And surprisingly, even though they’re typically loners, they can learn how to perform tasks by observing other octopuses.

They’re a tad challenging to study though, because octopuses are notorious escape artists. They’re boneless, smart, and curious enough to crawl right out of their tanks and wander about the labs.

Unfortunately, despite how remarkable octopuses are, they don’t live very long. Depending on the species (and size). Most male octopuses survive between 2 and 3 years, dying shortly after impregnating a female. Females live about a year. Once they become impregnated, they retreat to a den to lay and protect up to 100,000 eggs. Once the babies hatch and can swim, eat, and ink on their own, the mom swims off and dies in peace.

Scientists aren’t sure why they have such short lifespans. For whatever reason, the mating and reproduction process signals their body to break down cells without regenerating them.

What Can We Learn From Them?

There are plenty of researchers who are itching to learn about octopuses, with plenty of fields ready to explode with their findings. Everything from artificial intelligence (A.I.) to neuroscience and biological engineering could benefit from what we learn about octopuses.