The Amazing Shapeshifting Octopus

Every year World Octopus Day is celebrated in October and there are memes aplenty when it comes to the celebration of this strange and wonderful species. Last year Octolab released footage of a captive cephalopod named Arnold was captured on video seen squeezing his body through an extremely narrow slit in his tank in order to reach a treat that was on the other side of the tank. The octopus successfully manages to squeeze his 1.8-kilogram body though a 2-centimeter gap.

No bones

The reason octopuses are able to perform this amazing feat of shapeshifting is because they have a boneless body that is also very squishy. Apart from the octopus beak, the species has no solid body parts. This means they are able to contort their body in remarkable fashion. If the beak is able to fit through the gap the octopus is trying to squeeze through, the rest of its body will most likely be able to as well.

Brute force

If that does not impress, an octopus has suckers on its arm each of which is loaded with up to 10,000 neurons which enables them to taste and feel with each appendage independently. An octopus arm that has been surgically removed is able to perform basic motions like grasping and reaching. In this case, Arnold found he was unable to make it through the gap, but still managed to work out how to get at the treats using brute force and removing the barrier altogether. Good for him!