- An octopus, with its 8 dangling arms that attach to any surface that they encounter, is never entangled by itself.
- Studies reveal that this is due to a chemical secreted by the octopus skin. These chemicals act as signaling molecules preventing the attachment of arms on other arms.
- Even a severed arm of the octopus actively move for about an hour after being severed because each arm has its own set of nerve cells that can function independent of the Brain for a while.
- These suckers attached to any surface except the skin. When presented with petridishes partly covered by octopus skin, these suckers avoided the skin and attached to expose parts of the petridishes.
- When the petridishes were coated with skin extracts, the suckers grabbed these with a force 10 times greater than the normal force. This is due to a chemical self recognition mechanism.
- The skin of the octopus contain receptors to sense and examine the materials that it encounters, much like the many different receptors in our various sense organs that help us perceive our environment.
- Read at:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/chemical-cues-prevent-octopus-arms-from-getting-entangled/article6035213.ece
Exams Perspective:
In Octopus, Chemicals In Its Skin Prevents Its Entanglement