Did the enormous West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse the last time global temperatures were 1.5°C above preindustrial levels? The answer lay in the DNA of an octopus.
Ranging from 12 to 22 centimetres, these tiny octopus are extremely venomous and found all over Australia. Here’s what to do if you see someone get bitten.
Octopus build cities, establish hierarchies and show social group behaviours. Domesticating will mean creating a new kind of octopus, with ecological and ethical implications.
Alexandra Schnell, University of Cambridge; Andrew Crump, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Jonathan Birch, London School of Economics and Political Science
Octopus, crabs, prawns demonstrate clear signs of emotion, such as pain and ‘anxiety-like’ behaviour.
In the red corner is the octopus with eight muscular, hyper-flexible arms. In the blue corner is the bird with killer vision and two sharp claws for catching prey with incredible speed and precision.
If octopuses simply started evolving a smarter brain, what stops them from ruling over humans? Why has this not happened already? An expert explains what these cephalopods might be capable of.
Some scientists say attributing ‘human-like’ qualities to animals is misleading. Others say it’s a great tool for conservation. Either way, the Netflix hit My Octopus Teacher has a positive message.
We recorded the largest number of bigfin squids ever seen in one area. Before this, this rather elongated creature had only been spotted a dozen times across the globe.
Kat Bolstad, Auckland University of Technology and Heather Braid, Auckland University of Technology
New squid research north of New Zealand nearly doubles the known cephalopod diversity in the Kermadec region, where a proposal to create one of the world’s largest marine reserves has stalled.