Tough Animals To Tame: The Octopus
The octopus is one of the most impressive marine animals due to its unmistakable appearance, its large bulb-shaped head and its many tentacles. However, these molluscs also stand out for their great intelligence and can easily get bored if their minds are not well stimulated.
Next, we will try to go beyond the presentation of the basic characteristics and habitat of octopuses. Let’s talk about the amazing cognitive ability of the octopus and its curious ease of getting bored. Thus, you will be able to know more and better this very interesting species.
Some Basic Facts About Octopuses
Octopuses are cephalopod molluscs, which have eight tentacles full of suckers. Like squid and sepia, octopuses do not have the external protection characteristic of molluscs such as mussels.
It is a carnivorous animal whose diet is based on the consumption of a wide variety of marine animals. The octopus diet includes crustaceans (lobsters, crabs and shrimp), molluscs (clams and mussels) and a great diversity of fish.
This curious sea species also eats algae to supplement its nutrition. This food offers a large amount of fiber, vitamins, minerals and high quality proteins.
Interestingly, the impressive giant octopuses can consume large fish such as sharks. In addition, they can take advantage of catching small birds that pass absentmindedly on the water’s surface.
Habitat and longevity of the octopus
The octopus shows a preference for the salt waters of tropical and temperate regions. They usually live near coral reefs, where they find many cracks and holes to make their “pits”. They can also live under rocks to protect themselves and hide from their predators.
However, thanks to their privileged adaptive capacity, the octopus population has expanded to almost all the world’s oceans. Interestingly, it is observed that specimens that live in warmer areas are small or medium-sized, while cold-water octopuses stand out for their large size.
The longevity of the octopus is highly variable and depends mainly on the species being analyzed. In captivity, this mollusk can live for about five years in optimal conditions. However, their life expectancy in the natural habitat is estimated to be between one and two years.
The great intelligence that the octopus has shown
According to specialists, the cognitive capacity of octopuses can be compared, in some theoretical aspects, to that of humans. However, its evolution was so different from ours that it becomes impossible to establish a real standard of comparison between our intelligences.
To cite just one example: octopuses have only a third of their neurons in their brains. The other two-thirds are distributed over your tentacles, making your nervous system very complex. In addition, this feature makes the “arms” of the octopus have sophisticated reflections.
The octopus gets bored easily
Although its intelligence has already been well recognized, a surprising and curious fact is that the octopus is easily bored. The reason this animal gets bored easily is precisely the easiness of learning and memorizing the challenges that are proposed to it.
Researchers at the California Academy of Science were surprised to realize the high need for mental stimulation in octopuses. They need to be regularly stimulated with new games and puzzles to stay mentally active and have stable behavior.
The strange and controversial experiment with ecstasy in octopuses
Biologists Eric Edsinger and Gül Dölen have proposed a strange and controversial experiment on the nervous system of the octopus and its possible similarities to humans.
To do this, they decided to pour liquid ecstasy into the octopus water in a controlled environment. The objective was to observe the nervous response and social behavior of octopuses after exposure to the hallucinogenic substance.
They were surprised to note that, like humans, octopuses become friendlier—or sociable—with the ecstasy effect. This is because its molecules combine with a protein in neurons, which produces high levels of serotonin. This hormone is better known as “the hormone of happiness”.
The most curious thing is that this protein is found in the SLC6A4 gene, which makes up the genome of octopuses and humans. Therefore, this research again opens the door to the possibility that there are more coincidences between the intelligence and nervous systems of people and molluscs.
