Two Spot Octopuses Rewire Their Brains to Survive Temperatures Changes

Experts have been baffled by octopuses ability to survive temperature fluctuations since they are not cold-blooded animals

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The octopus is probably the most alien-like species on Earth compared to ourselves, likely due to the over 500 million years of genetic separation between our species. Our closest shared relative probably resembled a flatworm. Still, octopuses have evolved to become brilliant animals.

As exciting as their intelligence is, our physical differences shouldn’t be overlooked because they truly are astounding. Studies continue to show mind-bending discoveries about the octopuses’ anatomy and capabilities — from their nine brains to their blue blood. Yet they still contain many mysteries. Now researchers finally found an answer to one of them.

The Mighty Mighty Octopus

I’ve written about octopuses before and could probably write a dozen more articles about them because they’re just so flippin’ fascinating. The Netflix documentary, My Octopus Teacher went straight to my heart, and everything I’ve learned about them since then continues to blow me away.

Sure, they are master problem solvers and have a reputation for being sneaky escape artists — including memorizing guard schedules and then sneaking into nearby tanks to grub on aquarium fish. And while I don’t condone bullying, wild octopuses have even been seen punching fish for no apparent reason or hurling shells at other octopuses.

But beyond their entertaining personalities and elevated intelligence, octopuses have a genuinely remarkable anatomy. You likely know that an octopus has a brain in each of its eight arms, and each one has around 10,000 neurons dedicated to scoping out its environment. Plus, another brain in its bulbous skull-less head! They can also camouflage themselves to match their surroundings with astounding speed and accuracy.

While scientists are discovering more and more about the octopuses’ capabilities, one aspect has stumped experts for a while.

See, octopuses and other cephalopods (an intelligent animal group ranging from giant squids to cuttlefish) are ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals. This means they can’t internally regulate their body temperature. Instead, they get all their heat from external sources — so if an ectothermic animal is in a 50°F room, its body temperature will match it.

And since octopuses are soft-bodied, the inability to regulate their body temperature to their surroundings leaves them vulnerable, threatening their cognitive function if they become too hot or cold.

Yet, despite being ectothermic, octopuses defy expectations and appear to survive just fine when exposed to both slow and quick temperature changes. Like from seasonal changes or when diving deeper into the colder depths of the oceans. But scientists were at a loss to explain how they achieved this until now.