My favourite tentacle

From The Independent, 8 July 08

‘Twenty-five octopuses will today begin twiddling a Rubik’s Cube in the name of scientific research.

..the month-long project at 23 Sea Life Centres across Britain and Europe will examine octopus intelligence in an attempt to discover if they have a favourite tentacle for picking things up – much as humans are right or left-handed.

Octopuses belong to the same family as slugs and snails, but scientists believe they are far more intelligent than their relatives. The researchers will give the 25 assorted creatures food and toys to play with, and record which limbs the animals use.

Claire Little, a marine expert at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre, explained: “Uniquely, octopuses have more than half their nerves in their arms and have been shown to partially think with their arms… Many animals have been shown to favour a certain arm so we will see if octopuses can be added to that list.”

If the experiment indicates a preference it could shed new light on the structure of octopus brains. What’s more, octopuses are susceptible to stress, so finding if they have a favoured side on which to be fed could improve their well-being in captivity.’

Full story at The Independent