Video: Brainy octopus and its coconut |Plus: Masters of camo

Last edited Sat Jun 27, 2015, 01:10 PM - Edit history (1)

Video: Brainy octopus and its coconut
Jun 26, 2015
by Eleanor Imster in Videos » Earth, Science Wire

We can’t get enough of the coolness of octopuses here at Earthsky. Watch what this octopus does with coconut shells.

The footage, shot by a diver in Lembeh, Indonesia April 2015, shows the a small octopus, known as the ‘coconut octopus’ because of its habit of using coconuts and shells to protect itself. It’s found on sandy bottoms in bays or lagoons in tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean.

More and more research is revealing that humans aren’t the only animals that use tools – chimpanzees, dolphins, and crows – use tools as well. But what about an octopus? Is the coconut octopus using tools? Some scientists say yes.

Researchers from the Melbourne Museum in Australia claimed the coconut octopus uses tools for concealment and defense by gathering available debris to create a defensive fortress. The researchers filmed octopuses collecting coconut half-shells discarded by humans from the sea floor. The octopuses carried the shells for up to 20 meters (66 ft) and arranged them around the body to form a hiding place.

http://earthsky.org/earth/video-brainy-octopus-and-its-coconut?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=55f72d295d-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-55f72d295d-393525109


The vid wouldn't load in the article on my phone so I went to youtube. Found right one, plus more:

Kleptopus


Mimic octopus



But the master of camouflage...



Natl Geographic doc: