By carrying that coconut, octopuses of this sort made a change in their legal status necessary.
The extent of octopus intelligence is debated, at least among vertebrates, but there is evidence of pretty complex behavior, including possible tool use. See, e.g., J.K. Finn, T. Tregenza, and M.D. Norman, “Defensive tool use in a coconut-carrying octopus,” 19 Current Biology 1069 (2009). The evidence was enough to convince the UK to grant protection to the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) in 1993, thus ironically granting it a certain elite status.
That discrimination ended in 2010, however, when the EU enacted a broader directive that let the other octopuses and even squid into the club:
In addition to vertebrate animals including cyclostomes, cephalopods should also be included in the scope of this Directive, as there is scientific evidence of their ability to experience pain, suffering, distress and lasting harm. [Therefore, t]his Directive shall apply to the following animals: (a) live non-human vertebrate animals [and] (b) live cephalopods.
They are calling it an “honorary vertebrate,” which sounds rather like a demotion to me. Can we instead declare people to be honorary cephalopods? Thank you, that would be awesome.
I loved this story when I saw it earlier in the week.
There has never been a better time for a
Clenched-Tentacle-Salute!
What makes you think that a lowly animal that can’t even regenerate a lost limb deserves the lofty title of “Cephalopod”, honorary or otherwise?
Are you saying coconuts migrate?
@What a Maroon:
It is a bit vain, isn’t it?
I mean, seriously, read this if you dare!
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In searching for that article, I came across the headline: “Is Sperm the New Superfood?”
I would say gag me, but those who would like me to believe that headline probably wouldn’t be dissuaded.
And now some are starting to live in groups AND survive their first clutch of eggs, both things would seem like preconditions to develop culture…
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/octopus-chronicles/rare-social-octopuses-break-all-the-mating-rules-video/
This is so exciting I can’t even.
I’m tempted to drop my job, move to Nicaragua and start studying them in nature.
I wonder if it would be possible (and ethical) to breed them for sociability and intelligence.
Wow, F.O., that’s so exciting!
Thanks for the news – I’d had no idea. To the extent I was aware of octopus sociality at all, I also bought into to the message of the “doesn’t exist” camp.
It’s funny, it seems like the schooling of squid requires instinct-heavy, creativity-light responses. I don’t see a reason for that to differ on land with our ancestors either, for those that pack/herd/school extensively. So some period of evolutionary development as a species (or as multiple, successive species) that lives individualistically is necessary (or at least strongly recommended) for creativity to make substantial population inroads.
But culture requires creativity AND pro-sociality.
So would it be the most likely and expected path for a species with culture to have developed through a period as (an) individualistic species followed by a pro-social species to first acquire the potential creativity and then develop the mechanisms to communicate in such a way as to learn and later teach the cultural results of that creativity?
In that case, speculation that pro-social squid are closer to developing something like culture would be wrong **unless** there has already been a stage of individualistic development among some squid.
Y’all should be worried about the squirrels.
They have a plan….
Our tentacular master is good and made us this forum where we can speak and
…Squirrel!
Tonight I just cannot find a workable link
but Anya’s Bunny song would work here.
Or maybe midgets.
If they ever extend that protection to plants, my research is going to get WAY more difficult!
Yeah, but does it make that clip clop sound with them?
is that a European octopus or an African octopus?
Whatever.
You can see it’s fully laden.
@ Crip Dyke,
Yeah, but we got… um…
Beards! That’s it. You ever see a squid with a beard?
Yeah, context is everything. And in that context, ewwwww.
There’s a vid of an octopus examining a monkey wrench, and she really seems to be trying to understand it. Then a clump of drifting seaweed turns into another cephalopod, which completely engulfs her in its arms, and cuttles off. Either one would get my vote for intelligence.
#6: Here ya’ go:
http://youtu.be/nT3MBYp5I-Y
I’m sorry!
The above video is for chigau at #9.
Video mentioned in #16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGMT99i00M4
Poor Occy :(
@Crip Dyke #6: you make an interesting point about social animals.
I wouldn’t close the door to civilization taking different paths…
But we know of ONE path that worked, and for the first time an invertebrate, and a very intelligent one taking it…
The extent of coconut intelligence is debated, but there is evidence of pretty complex behavior, including possible tool use. See, e.g., B. Otanist, “Means of movement use by an octopus-carrying coconut,” 19 Current Biology 1069 (2009).
You’re all wrong. The coconut is using the octopus as a vehicle.