Coolest thing ever: cephalopods using tools

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

Wired article (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/octopus-tools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29).

The embedded video is great. Not sure if it is supposed to have sound but nothing was coming through my speakers. The article comments are an entertaining read too.

And because I love you guys, I am sparing you the brunt of the Harry Nilsson joke I cracked when posting the link on Facebook. :D

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

I swear I can spell cephalopod!!! :smack:

[Miller]

Don't worry. I've just made sure that the world will never know your secret shame.

[elelle]

This really was an amazing find. I watched the video today at lunch and just kept laughing at it, because it was so incredible, and, sweet. The octopus would clean out the coconut shell, and haul it off in a rather delicate ballet on tippy toes to where it wanted to go. :eek:

That's the thing; it didn't just find the shell and get safe harbor, it hauled it off to use it elsewhere. Their marvelous body flexibility and flashing color has made them one of my most fave creatures; this really seals the deal.

[Wile E]

Octopus tools? Are you sure this isn't another Far Side cartoon?

Oh and here's the requisite post ...
I, for one, welcome our new octopus overlords.

[Equipoise]

That's the thing; it didn't just find the shell and get safe harbor, it hauled it off to use it elsewhere. "Oh, shit," Says Humanity! (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28315) First dolphins, now cephalopods?

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

The felatio-performing bats (http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1027-hance_batsex.html) that I'm shamelessly stealing from the "Odd Animal News" thread could double as an Onion article and may indeed be tied with this as my personal coolest thing ever.

[Sunspace]

Tentacles. Why is it always tentacles?!

[Johnny L.A.]

Anyone else think of Python?

[TheTerribleTako]

I saw that video yesterday and I've been giggling like mad every once in a while all throughout today just thinking of that octopus holding up his coconut like a skirt.

I love random octopus misbehaving/being clever news.

[aruvqan]

Ia Ia Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Is there any doubt about His Tentacleness any longer?

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

I knew there was a reason for using squid in the SDMB Initiation Ritual!

They have PhDs!

[Least Original User Name Ever]

Paging olivesmarch4th, lover of all things squid.

[Chimera]

Call me when they learn Metallurgy.

[blondebear]

Next thing you know they'll be taking up gardening.

[Gary "Wombat" Robson]

Next thing you know they'll be taking up gardening.In the shade?

[matt_mcl]

I'm sorry, the video of the octopus sitting in the coconut shell, sticking its tentacles out, and then lolloping across the ocean floor with the shell clutched under its mantle was the cutest thing lately. Certainly the cutest invertebrate thing. Not only do they use tools, they do it adorably.

[teela brown]

Look at me! Zoidberg the homeowner!

[PlainJain]

I think I'm missing something, how is that being used as a tool?
ETA: nevermind.


Call me when they learn Metallurgy.
HA!

[spoike]

Awesome! I suspect cephalopods are a lot more clever than we think they are. This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPnd_KzGdHI&feature=related) (which is in German, so I have no idea what it says) shows another octopus who likes coconuts. It gets especially fabulous just past the half-way mark.

In that article, it mentions that octopuses are known for making mischief in aquariums. My son has gone to a couple summer camps at Sea World San Diego where they get to go to the restricted parts of the aquariums to meet the animals. They met an octopus who would extend a tentacle out of his tank, moving the lid from tank next door, which contained crabs. He'd reach down into their tank to crab some poor unsuspecting crab, which he would then bring back to his tank to consume. It had taken Mr. Octopus a little while to figure out how to do it, but once he had, crab feast every night, at least until the staff caught on.

[Winston Smith]

This is by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Linky (http://www.rdmag.com/News/2009/12/Life-Science-Invertebrates-using-tools-The-coconut-carrying-octopus/).


SYDNEY (AP)—Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter—unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal.


Make sure you watch the embedded video - absolutely awesome.

[Colibri]

I have merged the above post with an existing thread on the subject.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

But were they African or European octopi carrying those coconuts?

[Ludovic]

Look at me! Zoidberg the homeowner!

Yeah, but shag one squid....

[billfish678]

Very cute.

I just hope they don't tell the spiders about this whole tool concept.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Call me when they learn Metallurgy.No.
Amphibious Warfare.

[Little Nemo]

I was very impressed by a video of an octopus. The researchers had placed a piece of fish in a glass jar and screwed the lid on before putting it in the octopus' tank. The octopus was able to figure out how to unscrew the lid to get the fish out.

[Wile E]

I love when it notices the camera and next thing you see is tentacles and suckers all up close and personal.

[Taenia spp.]

Who's a smart widdle cephawapod? You are! Yes you are! Yes you are!

[Finagle]

I was very impressed by a video of an octopus. The researchers had placed a piece of fish in a glass jar and screwed the lid on before putting it in the octopus' tank. The octopus was able to figure out how to unscrew the lid to get the fish out.

Would an octopus be comfortable with the notion of a right-hand or left-hand thread?

[Zebra]

It would be the coolest thing ever if the cephalopods were playing the Doctor Who theme on Tesla coils.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

So.

Not only are they skeevy enough to star in Japanese Tentacle Pron, they are smart enough to be producers for the films!

[elelle]

I'm sorry, the video of the octopus sitting in the coconut shell, sticking its tentacles out, and then lolloping across the ocean floor with the shell clutched under its mantle was the cutest thing lately. Certainly the cutest invertebrate thing. Not only do they use tools, they do it adorably.

Hey, now, Matt,"lolloping" is the perfect word ! Inspirational, even....



Octopus lollops with the coconut, puts them both together,
puts a tentacle in the coconut, nothin' feels better.
Sitting in the coconut and suckers them both up,
Octopus lollops with the coconut, across the ocean flooring

In editing, missed your Nilsson reference at first CTTDSWHCookies.

[troubledwater]

I love when it notices the camera and next thing you see is tentacles and suckers all up close and personal.

It reminded me of celebrities trying to block the papparazzi.

[brujaja]

<never mind>