Intelligent invertebrate: Octopus snatches coconut and runs

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Octopuses are intelligent too.
After finding tool use in other primates, other mammals and in birds,
scientists now for the first time found tool use in an invertebrate.
Here's an article about it, plus a funny video:
Octopus snatches coconut and runs

I read in my degree that octopuses can remember tricks for 5 years and recognise their trainers/experimenters, unfortunately they are still exempt from certain ethics and can be cut up alive its interesting how they must retain this info as the have a big neuron rather than a regular brain, it really shows how things work in ways we dont understand.

I really like octopuses

I can't help but think all animals are rather more intelligent than we give them credit for.

Octopuses using tools. First coconuts, eventually nuclear weapons. It's a well trodden path.

I work at an aquarium and they put the octopus's food in jars and it will open them and solve problems and stuff

Scientist, I was just thinking about posting that! Get outta my head!

Seriously, we must hang around the same places.

Do you read http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/ too?

No, never saw that one, thanks.

Last edited by Scientist on 15 Dec 2009, 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm surprised they just made an article about this, because this is hardly new. Octopi, squids and cuttlefish are all amazing creatures though.

double post.

Last edited by Stinkypuppy on 16 Dec 2009, 2:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

Agreed.

Octopi are also good in takoyaki.

Octopuses have a very high brain mass to body volume ratio. They could be very smart indeed.

ruveyn

they are honorarry vertebrates in some contries

It's part of a nefarious plot on the part of biologists. We will conquer the world with the aid of our animal allies.

I think so too. Just because they can't talk they get a bit disadvantaged.

Anyway, I love the octopus story too. I don't mean to sound arrogant but I don't understand why everyone was so surprised..

Once I had a carribean octopus for a pet.
I housed it in a 29 gallon tank as it was small-hand sized.
I fed it small cuts of fish.

One neat thing I can remember was that it turned red in response to a red colored pen I held up to the glass once.
It was almost an instant color transfer.

It didn't live long as one day I apparently spooked it and it 'inked' and died within seconds.
I thought maybe it was a water chemistry problem as the nitrite was way too high.
Ammonia goes to nitrite and then to nitrate.
This is analogous to CO poisoning in mammals so it was under this stress and the ink is toxic and dealt the final blow .

I wonder what other things octopuses can do? Could it be possible for an octopus to open the door of a car that was underwater?