Crawling, swimming, embracing, squeezing, camouflaging… running? Why would an agile octopus, like the algae octopus or the Amphioctopus marginatus, also known as the coconut octopus and veined octopus, choose to use two of their eight arms to stand up and “run” backwards?
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Senior Researcher Chrissy Huffard explains her surprising octopus video footage (armage?) in this episode of Science Friday’s The Macroscope.
Update from Nature on PBS: Here’s another excellent video of a ‘running’ octopus. This time, the creature is moving quickly with a coconut shell in its arms—instant shelter on the sand flats where there are few places to hide.
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