Octopuses might appear as gooey creatures with suckers on their arms, but do not be deceived by their looks. These molluscs may actually be far brainier than you think. Some scientists even believe that octopuses could be among the earliest truly intelligent creatures on Earth.
Remarkable Cognitive Abilities
Octopuses solve puzzles, untie knots, open jars, and master escapes from aquariums. What is truly amazing is that their intelligence evolved separately from ours. About two-thirds of their neurons are located in their arms rather than in their central brain.
Neural Architecture
Despite having cousins like sea slugs, octopuses exhibit advanced problem-solving skills. The Natural History Museum notes that octopus intelligence evolved on a completely different path from human intelligence. Around two-thirds of their roughly 500 million neurons reside in their eight arms, rather than the doughnut-shaped central brain that surrounds the esophagus in their head.
The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) has a neuron count comparable to that of a dog. Its brain-to-body ratio is the highest among all invertebrates, exceeding many vertebrates, though not mammals. While intelligence is also measured by the number of folds in the brain, smarter animals tend to have a higher brain-to-body ratio, which indicates a heavy investment in thinking.
Problem-Solving in Action
According to a Natural History Museum report, "In experiments they've solved mazes and completed tricky tasks to get food rewards. They're also adept at getting themselves in and out of containers," notes researcher Jon. One lab octopus raided fish tanks at night, ate the fish, cleaned up, and returned undetected. "I remember reading one about a lab where all the fish were going missing from their tank," he revealed. All this happened because of the octopus's mischief. "The staff set up a little video camera and it turned out that one of the octopuses was getting out of its tank, going to the other tank, opening it, eating the fish, closing the lid, going back to its own tank and hiding the evidence," Jon recalled.
Recognition and Memory
Large optic lobes in their eyes give octopuses excellent vision. "Octopuses appear to be able to recognise individuals outside of their own species, including human faces," says Jon. According to a Scientific American report, a New Zealand octopus targeted one staff member with water jets. Tests at the Seattle Aquarium showed that giant Pacific octopuses could distinguish "nice" feeders from "mean" ones who prodded them with sticks, despite the feeders wearing uniforms.
