Cephlapod Camouflage: now you see them, now you don't

Here's some visual fun. Cephlapods - squid, octopus, and cuttlefish - have incredible color-changing capabilities. Add to that, the ability of the octopus and the cuttlefish to change the texture of their skin and you have some remarkable displays of camouflage.



Below is a great short video from Science Friday, originally put out by the educational arm of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The actual footage was shot over a decade ago by marine biologist Roger Hanlon and I have seen it in other Woods Hole presentations over the years, but it never loses the fascination it generates with the viewer.



Not only is it amazing to watch but it's also mysterious - scientists to this day are still trying to determine how these mollusks are able to do it. How can a colorblind octopus match its color to the surroundings so perfectly? What triggers the type of display the animal will use - a communicating color pattern, a camouflage pattern based on color or texture or both?



Aaah, the mysteries of the deep. . .

Seen & Unseen: Dave Gallo talks about some of the ocean's amazing ways

Here's just a little reminder - a fun one - as to why the ocean and all the animals that call it home need our support in conserving and protecting this vital environment. David Gallo, Director of Special Projects for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is a great speaker and puts on presentations that always leave the audience in awe and amazement. Here is a wonderful video clip from 2007 given at a TED meeting (TED is an interesting organization, dedicated to Technology, Entertainment, and Design - which means a wide range of fascinating speakers and subjects):

Bioluminescence in the greater depths and a cephlapod's camouflage through manipulation of skin color and texture - two of nature's fascinating ways it perpetuates life in the aquatic kingdom.

Octopus Smarts: take the coconut and run

Here's a piece of light-hearted news that my brother alerted me to from the BBC. Off Northern Sulawesi and Bali, some of the underwater landscape is just silty sand (some divers refer to investigating this terrain as muck diving). For creatures like the octopus, this is a difficult world to find a suitable hiding place.

But Dr. Julian Finn of the Australia's Museum Victoria, has been able to document the ingenious behavior of these eight-armed mollusks. Dr. Finn reported - and captured on video - several octopi not only using discarded coconut shells as safe habitats - but portable ones at that. The octopus would climb aboard the empty shell and then stiffen it's legs and literally walk across the sea floor with its new-found home in tow.

It's hard to describe but hilarious to watch. Click the image below to link to the BBC online article and video.
The interesting thing, from a scientific point of view, is how this demonstrates a rudimentary use of tools. It's one thing to find adequate shelter regardless of what it is - a crevice in the reef, a discarded tin can, whatever - but it's a whole different thing when the animal realizes the object's importance and devises a means to take it along and use when needed.

As aquariums have often discovered, the octopus is very curious and capable of investigating its surroundings and finding ways to escape. Here's another example to prove they're smarter than your average cephalopod!