The veined octopus selects coconut shells, empties them, and then carries them across the sea floor to create a hiding spot. You can see it on video here. And unlike hermit crabs, they select and collect the coconut shells for later use, and when they carry them to the selected spot, they provide no protection. Seems like those octopi are planning ahead. Who would have thought octopi are so forward-thinking?
Tool use by invertebrates is very well known, and has been documented for ants, caddisflies, hermit crabs, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis is gonna make eating grilled octopus harder ...
ReplyDeleteHmm... I've never heard about tool use in invertebrates before Dan--anywhere you could point me for more information?
ReplyDeleteRaymond--this is why my policy is not to eat anything with a nervous system.