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Scientists in Israel, in a serendipitous discovery while studying the causes of skin colour changes in the cephalopod due to light, have made a shocking discovery. They found that octopus arms can sense a beam of light and evade it even when its eyes cannot see the light.
In a series of tests and investigation, the scientists discovered that shining a light on an octopus s arm caused the animal to repudiate it, even when it was slumbering, and while the source of the light was present on the other side of a small opening into which its arms could fit but the light was unseen to its eyes.
Octopuses have a secret sense to keep 8 arms out of trouble
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By Richard Sima
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Though it is well-known for its many arms, the octopus does not seem to know where those eight appendages are most of the time.
âIn the octopus, you have no bones and no joints, and every point in its arm can go to every direction that you can think about,â said Nir Nesher, a senior lecturer in marine sciences at the Ruppin Academic Centre in Israel. âSo even one arm, itâs something like endless degrees of freedom.â
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