Running Octopus video

[Mr T.]

How a wily octopus walks away from harm
(Filed: 25/03/2005)

Octopuses have been observed "walking" on two tentacles as part of a strategy to avoid predators, it was revealed yesterday.

They extend each limb in turn, rolling it under their body like a tank track.

Meanwhile the creatures' other tentacles are free to use as part of a disguise.

Octopuses normally jet backwards or crawl slowly over the sea floor.

They are adept at camouflaging themselves by changing colour and shape. But they have to drop their disguise when forced to move quickly.

Scientists think the strategy was developed to allow a quick escape while remaining camouflaged. The trick has been seen in two species.

In one case, a coconut octopus from Indonesia was seen running backwards on two limbs at five and a half inches per second. With another six tentacles wrapped around its body, the creature resembled a fleeing coconut.

The other species, octopus aculeatus, commonly coils and raises its two front arms to resemble algae. It was filmed scooting along the sea floor on two legs off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

"It seemed like it was walking on little conveyor belts," reported Crissy Huffard, a researcher from the University of California at Berkeley, in the journal Science.

Robert Full, professor of integrative biology at Berkeley, said understanding the motion could lead to developments in "soft" robotics.

He said: "Artificial muscles that can stiffen at will could reproduce this behaviour."

[Ant P]

This octopus can actually run across the seabed while keeping its disguise intact. Check out the video link - remarkable stuff . Its the sort of thing that you would convince you that you were narked. In fact I am sure I have seen a piece of seaweed running across the seafloor in Sussex just like that once

http://news.com.com/Octopuses+runnin...ml?tag=nefd.ac

Cheers, Ant