Despite having eight limbs to select from, octopuses have favorite appendages, according to recent research.
When playing tennis or writing an essay, the majority of individuals have a favorite hand.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota observed octopuses fighting a variety of prey and discovered that they favored some limbs over others.
The team expects that the discoveries can be used to create highly manipulable soft robots for the next generation.
Dr. Trevor Wardill, the study’s author, remarked, “If we can learn from octopuses, we can apply those lessons to the development of underwater vehicles and soft robots.”
Octopuses utilize all eight of their arms when moving on the seafloor or soaring through the ocean.
Dr. Wardill stated that when observing an octopus for a short period, nothing is typically repeated.
They wriggle about… They appear strange in their probing movements’
In their current investigation, the researchers sought to determine if octopuses utilized their arms randomly or had a predilection when hunting.
The researchers examined the California two-spot octopus, a species with a two-year lifespan and a tennis-ball-sized maximum size.
The octopuses were kept in a tank, where they hid in SpongeBob-themed ornamental “dens” with one eye facing outward.
The researchers videotaped the octopuses’ responses when they dropped various prey into the tank.
Regardless of the sort of prey that approached, each octopus attacked with the second arm from the center.
Surprisingly, their recordings indicated that the octopuses employed distinct assault strategies based on the prey type.
When the target was a crab, the octopuses attacked with a “cat-like action.”
When it was a shrimp, however, they moved more slowly, utilizing their second arm to contact it before securing it with their two adjacent arms.
All octopuses favored their second arm, which astonished the researchers.
Now, the group intends to investigate how neurons support these arm motions.
The study’s lead author, Flavie Bidel, stated, “Octopuses are extraordinarily strong.”
Given their dexterity, grasping and opening a door is a simple task for them.
