The Insane Biology of: The Octopus

Credits:
Writer/Narrator/Editor: Stephanie Sammann

Imagery courtesy of Getty Images

References:

[spooky]

I gotta go to work in 4hours and I'm over here learning about octopuses at 2 AM

[italucenaz]

"You gained intelligence?"
octopus: "yes"
"What did it cost?"
octopus: "shell"

[ryuuguu]

I hope there is an updated version made. Octopuses and squid are now known not to be colorblind but just as their intelligence evolved differently than chordates their color vision is completely different. They only have a single type of photodetector and the fact that lenses are achromatic and have non-circular pupils and their visual system is much more complicated than ours so as to be able to extract color diffraction around the edge of the pupil and the achromatic distortions caused by lenses.

[doughnutrush]

Ever since I was 8 years old, I've wanted to be a marine biologist. I would always wonder about all these amazing creatures that are found in the ocean... My parents wouldn't let me have my own phone, so I would ask them if I could watch a video on their phone about sharks and dolphins and all marine animals I could think of. My cousin is currently in university studying to become a marine biologist, and she lives on the opposite side of the world from where I do, yet every night, we talk about these mysteries of the ocean through messages. Although I am still in school and still have many years of school and high school, I still want to be a marine biologist. These videos of the ocean makes me even more curios! Thank you for sharing this information.

[jimhunt]

I worked with a marine biologist studying cephalopods. He had one big tank for octopuses and one for crabs, their favorite food. One morning he came in and found that one of his octopuses had pushed the lid open on his tank, crossed the floor and climbed into the crab tank. Soon it became a common occurrence. He decided to give the octopus a mild shock when he found it in the crab tank to deter it. Within days he came in and found the octopus had still gone to the crab tank, eaten it's fill, but then climbed back to its own tank to avoid the shock.
They are amazing animals.

[SCORPONFRE]

"Lose your shell, and gain enlightenment" -Octopus

[PetraYT]

How is it still legal to EAT those creatures?

[aaron_accordion]

This channel inspires a sense of wonder about nature in me that I hadn't felt since I was a kid. Thank you so much

[pixelsafoison]

Having done a lot of diving - I can say that the octopus is an absolute marvel to encounter. Some (mostly the younger ones) are ... So curious. At first it's like "WOW! U THREAT?!" once it establishes that you are not, it's like "Eeer ... What are you then? I've never seen one of you around before." and there begins the act of mutual curiosity :3. You slowly reach with a finger, it sends a tentacle ... you both touch, sometimes they get frightened and clamp your entire hand, flashing black before letting go, but not swimming away. They are playful, find a shiny pebble, hand it to the octopus, it'll take it, check if it can be eaten ... discard it ... then a few sec after send a tentacle back to the pebble out of curiosity as to "why did he give me this pebble ... gotta check again for anything special". They really hold a very special place in my heart, it's not everyday that two species get curious about one another and attempt mutual understanding :)

[syuasims]

just how intelegent are they?
octo : _wearing coconut shell while walking like a model_

[Baleur]

How do we even imagine an octopus "subjective experience", when its intelligence seems almost more like a collective cooperation with the arms rather than a "top-down" dictatorship (as our brains are, apart from the neurons in our hearts)?
Imagine being "the head" of an octopus, sometimes dragged along by the autonomy of your arms.
Or imagine being "the arm", dedicating your whole existance to the benefit of the other 7 arms and the head.
We cant even begin to imagine the subjective experience of such an organism.

[fstopPhotography]

That was fascinating.
As a diver, I've always had a great interest in octopus. This just put it on another level.

[entropy_]

> ditched the shell
> evolved intelligence
So this is what it means to leave your comfort zone

[Julian-zhnj]

Such content is incredibly underappreciated

[stepearson]

This is some crazyy shit to watch at 2am, im absolutely mind blown

[MoRPho]

Your content is so high quality! Congrats! I loved the Netflix documentary "Octopus teacher", cried at the end. These animals are amazing, more than we usually think!

[domdomdomme]

Can we just appreciate the fact that there isn’t a single ad in this whole video?

[g_supersonc]

changing colors and body textures is incredible but what amazes me even more is the speed at which the octopus does it…it’s freakin insane man

[JessePinkman-kkve]

the idea that another animal from this planet evolves to a point where we could talk back and forth with each other would be amazing.
just imagine an Octopus walking biside a human on the street

[KnowledgeCat]

This video brilliantly captures their unique and incredible features! Thanks for such an informative and captivating one!