No-one’s Ark: Dumbo Octopus
IUCN Status: Data Deficient
This is an extract from Human Nature: How to be a Better Animal, part of Chapter 6’s list of ten animals that I would choose to save first.
3000 metres under the sea, everything is dark- so perhaps it’s not surprising few people have seen the dumbo octopus. Those who have describe the webbing between its tentacles giving it an umbrella shape, and of course the fins on either side of its head paying homage to a certain flying elephant. The name ‘dumbo octopus’ may refer to any one of 15 species, but all of them share these common traits alongside two small, raisin-like eyes and an off-white colour.
When the IUCN hasn’t classified how threatened a species is, it can mean one of three things: a.) it was recently discovered, b.) it’s smaller than a matchbox, or c.) it lives somewhere people don’t tend to visit. The Matabele ant from number 2 falls under the second category, whilst the dumbo octopus scores double with a.) and c.) criteria. The pitch-black depths of the ocean aren’t the friendliest of places to visit, and as a result, the dumbo octopus is a relatively recent find. We don’t know how many of them there are, and can only assume that they are found across the globe. Octopuses have always had an aura of mystery to them, but none more so than these.
If I told you to draw a species with three hearts pumping blue blood, with 8 appendages each controlled by their own brain, no skeleton to speak of and the ability to match its appearance perfectly to its surroundings, chances are you’d hand me a neat sketch of an alien. And with good reason: the idea of such a creature is one that we with our limited human experience have immense difficulty comprehending. Yet octopuses have graced this planet with their presence for the past 300 million years, puzzling great thinkers since science began. Aristotle dismissed them out of hand as unintelligent, but if their captive escapades are anything to go by, we shouldn’t be so quick to write them off.
In a California aquarium, one octopus deftly disassembled a water recycling valve in her tank overnight. 750 litres of water were dumped over the newly installed flooring beneath, leaving the cleaning staff with a nasty shock waiting for them the following morning. Another octopus in the UK learnt to break out of its tank at night and snack on fish from a nearby tank before returning innocuously in time for the keeper’s morning arrival. What a devious creature! Finally, topping it off, an octopus can claim to have bested the human world record for solving a Rubik’s cube. The time it took to solve the cube was a mere 5.24 seconds- a fraction of a second better than the record at the time. Having eight limbs might be construed as advantageous, but the feat is impressive none-the-less!
Camouflage is the ability octopuses are most famous for. Going beyond simple colours and patterns, many species are able to change the texture of their skin to match with their surroundings. Tiny moveable bumps on the surface are altered as necessary for the desired effect, allowing a pebbly sea-floor, rough kelp forest or sandy bottom all to be replicated with ease. The mimic octopus takes it one step further by contorting its flexible body into the shape of other sea creatures it chooses to masquerade as. All of this is firmly in the scientific spotlight as we decipher how these effects are achieved, but the fashion industry might see some classy new additions if we can master the underlying mechanisms.
Aside from their peculiar anatomy and unlikely intelligence, octopus behaviour is quite the enigma in itself. Previously thought to be strictly solitary animals, octopuses have recently been observed living together in sizeable communities and even larger nursery groups. Oclantis and Octopolis might leave something to be desired on the naming front, but these two locations South of Sydney on Australia’s East coast represent the first evidence for octopus cities. The (also poorly named) gloomy octopus can be seen there in the dozens, sharing lodgings and getting along on quite good terms with their flatmates. One of their apartment blocks has been built around a scrap of metal that washed in, whilst the other seemingly arose from scratch using clam and scallop shells for walls. Octopuses may not be quite so solitary after all.
On the opposite side of the world, off the Californian coastline, another recent sighting showed one thousand female octopuses gathered in a single spot to raise their young. Apparently, the joint benefits of an optimal location and protection in numbers persuaded the mothers to set aside their differences, leading to this rare spectacle. That’s incredible enough without the devotion of octopus mothers to consider: starving themselves for up to two years whilst incubating their eggs, protecting their precious offspring and wafting them with oxygenated water to speed along their development. When the eggs hatch, the mother’s body shuts down, its cells dying en masse staring at the eyes and moving outwards to her other tissues and organs. The young octopuses take their first meal from their mother’s corpse, and yet even with such sacrifice, on average only two out of several thousand young survive to adulthood.
Octopuses are an ancient lineage, and quite unique amongst invertebrates for their high level of intelligence. They are deeply emotional animals and loving parents, but climate change could spell an end for them. Whilst deep-sea dwellers like the Dumbo octopus are safe for now, most other species live in shallow surface waters that place them at risk. Climate change results in ocean acidification, which impairs the ability of octopuses to draw oxygen from the water. That’s a major issue, with vision impairment and eventual blindness two of the most immediate consequences. Cuisine sees octopuses served up as a delicacy in the Mediterranean and some Asian regions. This decimates local populations and abuses captive animals in octopus farms. The celebrity-physicist Brian Cox amongst others has refused to eat the creature, having witnessed first-hand the remarkable mental capacities they show.
Joining my ark, the dumbo octopus serves as a case in point that this Earth is richer than we know- countless species are waiting to be discovered boasting all manner of superpowers. However, it also shows that the harm we humans have caused is indiscriminate in the animals it affects, bearing down on even the hardiest survivors and Einsteins of the natural world.
