Octopuses: New Study Shows How They Use Their Arms
A new study reveals interesting details about how octopuses use their arms. Unlike people, who are usually right-handed or left-handed, octopuses don’t have one “dominant” arm. However, they do prefer to use their front arms for certain tasks, according to research.
Scientists watched videos of wild octopuses crawling, swimming, and exploring. They found that octopuses use all eight of their arms for many things. But, the front four arms are used most of the time, about 60%, especially for exploring. The back arms are often used for moving forward.
This study looked at octopuses in their natural homes, unlike older studies that watched them in labs. The new research showed that octopuses don’t favor their right or left arms when they’re in the wild.
Experts say this is a big step forward in understanding these shy animals. Octopuses spend much of their time hidden, so studying them takes a lot of time and patience. Each arm has many suckers that help them feel and explore their world. And if an octopus loses an arm, it can grow back, showing how strong and adaptable these creatures are.
