Julian Finn and Mark Norman of Museum Victoria in Melbourne have reported (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214121953.htm) what they think is the first example of tool use in an invertebrate. They observed several specimens of an octopus Amphioctopus marginatus, in the seas around North Sulawesi and Bali, collecting half coconut shells that had been disposed of by vendors and then carrying them to 'home' locations. When they arrived at their chosen spot, they assembled two halves to make "a spherical hideout". There is no doubt that the octopus is amongst the most intelligent of the animals that lack a back-bone (they are probably brighter than many fish, amphibia and reptiles). The behaviour seems to be an adaptation of the cephalopod using discarded mollusc shells.
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Octo Einstein
Julian Finn and Mark Norman of Museum Victoria in Melbourne have reported (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214121953.htm) what they think is the first example of tool use in an invertebrate. They observed several specimens of an octopus Amphioctopus marginatus, in the seas around North Sulawesi and Bali, collecting half coconut shells that had been disposed of by vendors and then carrying them to 'home' locations. When they arrived at their chosen spot, they assembled two halves to make "a spherical hideout". There is no doubt that the octopus is amongst the most intelligent of the animals that lack a back-bone (they are probably brighter than many fish, amphibia and reptiles). The behaviour seems to be an adaptation of the cephalopod using discarded mollusc shells.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It's Not Tackling Climate Change That's Going to Cost an Arm and a Leg!
Critics of net zero policies often rail against their costs. A joint Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and UN Developm...
-
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants growing in marine environments. Seagrass meadows (large accumulations of these plants) provide vit... -
It's necessary, where possible, to replace diesel and petrol-fueled vehicles by electrical equivalents. Electric vehicles (EVs) don... -
Zonal pricing is a proposed change to the UK energy market. It would result in energy consumers paying less for electricity, if they are ba...
No comments:
Post a Comment