Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/octopuses-walk-across-ocean-floor/

Most people would easily be able to sum up what they know about an octopus in just a few sentences. They may think about the fact that they have eight arms or perhaps they might think about the suction cups or that they squirt ink when they are in danger. They may even realize that they are highly intelligent!

Of course, there are so many things that we don’t know about what takes place beneath the ocean, and when we see something new, it always amazes us. For example, biologists are now suggesting that we stop calling the appendages of an octopus “arms” and start calling them “legs.”

The Discovery Channel put out footage that showed an octopus walking across the ocean floor. It is something that most of us would never have expected to see. As soon as it was posted, people began to react to what they were seeing and they were amazed at the newfound information.

In most cases, we see videos of octopuses swimming through the ocean by sucking in water and then shooting it out through a tube, known as a “siphon.” These appendages are also used as a type of propeller system to move them in any direction they want.

In 2005, however, a study shared by UC Berkley showed that when they really wanted to get around or evade a predator, they could use those appendages to walk across the ocean floor.

According to the Journal Science, in the March edition, octopuses are able to use two of their legs to move and six of their arms to “transform their bodies into clumps of algae or rolling coconut shells that may not interest predators.” It may be a new thought for most of us, but learning new things is always about change.

Even scientists are now having to change the way they think. Co-author of the study, Robert Full from the University of California, said: “This discovery provides true inspiration for the beginning of a new age of soft robotics. The videos are almost unbelievable.”

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog