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One critical feature of these octopuses is that they don't just die after mating (most species of octopus do)... Which opens up possibilities, like teaching the
by NewJazz 2mo ago
One critical feature of these octopuses is that they don't just die after mating (most species of octopus do)... Which opens up possibilities, like teaching their young skills they have acquired.
- PowerElectronix 2mo agoLife expectancy is 2 years. They can mate more than once, but not many times more.
- MPSimmons 2mo agoA lifespan of 2 years for intelligent creatures is heartbreaking
- butlike 2mo agoOnly if their critical flicker frequency isn't in line with those 2 years.
- MPSimmons 2mo agooh wow, I'd never heard of this. Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flicker_fusion_threshold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flicker_fusion_threshold - now I think I understand why I can always tell GM vehicles with LED taillights at night. I can spot them a mile away, literally, because their taillights blink slower than others and I can see it, and it drives me crazy. Thanks for opening me up to this!
- m_kos 2mo agoThere is also an auditory gap detection threshold, but no wiki page, sadly.
- PowerElectronix 2mo agoThey are extremely intelligent for a mollusk(like, these folks are family with slugs and clamshells), but they are not that intelligent if you compare them to a pig or a dog. Their main brain is after all very small(although huuuge for a mollusk), most of it is dedicated to the processing of vision, with two big lumps next to the eyes, and there's a small lump in between these two for the brain proper.
- bell-cot 2mo agoWell, unfortunately - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus#Reproduction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus#Reproduction - a just-hatched young octopus doesn't stick around, but drifts away in the current. Also worth a read - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R/K_selection_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R/K_selection_theory
- __patchbit__ 2mo agoThe deep-sea octopus Graneledone boreopacifica has the longest known observed 53 month egg brooding period.
- NewJazz 2mo agoWe could test this if we managed to get a dna sample of the colonies. It does seem unclear if the colonies are "chosen" family or biological.
- MomsAVoxell 2mo agoThat is indeed a tantalizing eventuality which we may one day discover .. imagine the things they could do if they start teaching future generations of octopus how to deal with things! Another of my favorite octopus facts, is the existence of octopus settlements, which .. if you think about it .. is kind of astonishing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopolis_and_Octlantis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopolis_and_Octlantis All the elements for civilization are there .. social life, building constructions, edge-case evolutionary triggers, etc. I surely hope one day to learn that octopus are on the evolutionary path to take over (not so long) after we're gone .. I've spent countless days in my youth playing with the octopus of the reefs off the coast of Western Australia .. I love them. They are absolutely wonderful creatures. I once lured an octopus out of its lair with an Aussie gold coin, reflecting sunlight into its hole until it got curious, and we then spent an hour playing fetch - I'd take the coin to the water surface, let it sink in the sunshine, the octopus would dart around excitedly, catch it, swim around a bit, drop it like a dog playing fetch .. over and over, just the two of us having fun until the surf got too rough and the sharkiness levels went a bit too high for both of us. I sure wish I'd had an underwater camera back then, it was a wonderful moment.
- pvaldes 2mo agoOctopuses are not people. Young octopuses are food, not scholars
- NewJazz 2mo agoYou're a fucking weirdo