Sucker punch: Incredible footage of octopus fighting for its life after ending up on the menu for a hungry sea lion

By DANIEL MILLER

Suppertime: The mother sea lion spots a lone octopus and immediately heads in for the kill

This hungry sea lion got a little more than it bargained for when it decided to snap up a tasty looking octopus for its tea.
The incredible footage, the likes of which has never been seen before, was captured using a camera attached to the sea lion's back.
The mother sea lion spots the lone octopus swimming and immediately attacks, biting onto a tentacle and pulling it towards the surface.

Round one: The camera attached to the sea lion's back shows her taking a bite out of the octopus before pulling it towards the surface

But the octopus wasn't going to give up that easily and hits back by blasting a cloud of ink into its attacker's face forcing it to let go.
The sea lion is forced to switch tactics and make a series of fast attacks ripping off one of the octopus's eight legs every time it swims past, literally tearing it limb from limb.
Eventually the brave octopus is left utterly helpless and the sea lion finishes off its prey before hauling itself up onto the land for a nap.
The stunning footage was captured off the Australian coast by a team for National Geographic channel.

More than you can chew: The octopus isn't giving up so easily and wriggles free from its attacker's grasp

Take that: As the sea lion dives after its prey the octopus blasts a cloud of ink forcing her to break off the attack

Change of tactics: The sea lion makes a series of fast attacks grabbing hold of each of the octopus's tentacles literally ripping it limb from limb



source: dailymail

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Incredible pictures show the moment unwary seagull was eaten by an OCTOPUS after bird settled on the sea

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Deadly tussle: The seagull is fighting for survival after its head was grabbed by the Pacific octopus off the coast of Victoria, Canada

An unusual life and death duel between a giant Pacific octopus and a tragic seagull which finished with an unlikely victory for the eight-armed mollusc has been captured on camera.
Doing battle off the Pacific coast of Canada at Victoria's Ogden Point breakwater, the octopus was seen to violently envelop the bird with its tentacles, drown it and then pull it to its watery grave.
Standing 10ft away was amateur photographer Ginger Morneau, who managed to capture the entire brutal display from mother nature and post it online, creating a viral storm. Compelled by the tussle, which last just under one minute, Morneau had to fight off the urge to intervene and free the bird and watched helplessly as the fight ended in cruel defeat for the seagull.

Standing around ten feet away from the duel, photographer Ginger Morneau captured the seagulls futile struggle to survive as the octopus grabbed onto its prey

'It was a stunning moment, to be sure,' said Morneau in The Vancouver Sun.
Also witness to the gruesome death were Morneau's husband Ken and her brother Lou Barker. 'We were strolling along and talking,' continued Morneau.
'I saw the bird in the water and it looked like he was pecking at something underwater.'

Having not surfaced for air since the octopus grabbed its head, the seagull was facing a losing battle to survive

Photographer Ginger Morneau thought about intervening in the battle between the pair but realised she couldn't get to the shore quickly enough

Quickly realising that the bird had not come up for air, the group looked closer.
'That was the odd part. That's what made us step forward and we realised there was an octopus,' said Morneau.
Grabbing her camera, Morneau started taking pictures as the seagull's head was engulfed in the octopus' arms.
'It was apparent that it was going to lose,' explained Morneau.
Thinking about intervening, Morneau could not get down to the rocks quickly enough to try.
'It's that horrible situation to watch, like a car wreck, it was so primal and gut wrenching,' said Morneau.
'The hair was standing up on the back of my neck.'

The end: The seagull has been drowned by the octopus and the water lies still around the dead bird

Watery grave: The octopus pulls his prey under the water after winning its unlikely struggle against the seagull

Initially fighting with all its might to free itself, the seagull gave once last jerk before it died and was pulled under the water by the octopus.
'It dropped like a stone,' said Morneau.
'And then it was just gone, were shocked and awestruck, we couldn't believe what we had just seen.
'At one stage, a flock of seagulls flew overhead as their friend was dying. They were waiting, I guess, for scraps.'
Leaving the deathly quiet scene, Morneau, her husband and brother enjoyed a lunch of calamari to toast the success of the octopus.
'Then, when we came home at the end of the day, I wondered what kind of similar pictures could be out there (on the Internet) and I couldn't find a single image of an event like this,' said Morneau.

Photographer Ginger Morneau caught the chance encounter on camera and posted it to 'Bird Fellow Journal' who put the encounter on their twitter feed

Reflecting on the fight, Morneau was philosophical: 'It is the unknown. It is the murky depth. It comes up from down below,' said Morneau to Global News.
'It broke barriers. It broke the element of sea and air. It broke the rules.'
The Giant Pacific octopus is the largest octopus species and adults can weigh up to 15 kilograms and have an arm span of up to four metres.
Their usual prey is shrimp, crabs, scallops and fish.
'It was really sad at that final moment,' said Morneau to The Canadian Press.
'For as wonderful nature is, nature can be deadly.'



source: dailymail

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Now you see me... species of octopus uses dual camouflage system to baffle all predators

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Now you see it... The Japetella heathi showing its two forms of camouflage, transparent and an opaque red

In the ever-evolving arms race of the deep sea, camouflage is the name of the game.
Other than making yourself attractive to a potential mate, most sea creatures rate being invisible to predators as a high priority.
Now a marine expert has discovered a unique octopus and squid that can change camouflage at will.
The Japetella heathi octopus and the Onychoteuthis banksii squid share the ability to change from a transparent state to an opaque red colour.

All lights and teeth: The impressive angler fish, which uses a 'headlight' to attract and illuminate its prey

Both states are enough to baffle all comers in the mid-level ocean - where the sun's rays barely penetrate.
At a level of 2,000 to 3,000 feet below the surface, most predators spy the silhouette of their prey from underneath - against the lighter backdrop above.
In this case, it pays to be transparent, which is the default state of the octopus and squid.

Sharp-eyed predators would be able to see both creature's eyes and guts - which for obvious reasons cannot be transparent.
But the octopus and squid have evolved so that both their eyes and guts are reflective - further cutting down their silhouette.
With silhouette spotters out of the way, the only thing to worry about is happening upon a hungry 'searchlight' fish, such as the angler fish.
These amazing creatures use 'bioluminescence' to light up the darkness around them - both luring curious fish and exposing others.
The reflective eyes and guts of the octopus and squid would clearly give their location away.

So the Japetella heathi and the Onychoteuthis banksii turn an opaque red colour - effectively making them invisible in the deep.
Duke University post-doctoral researcher Sarah Zylinski said both species instantly turn on skin pigments, called chromatophores, to achiefve the opaque colour.
During experiments in 2010, Dr Zylinski shined blue-filtered LED light on specimens of both creatures to watch them rapidly go from clear to opaque.
She noted that when the light was removed they immediately reverted to transparent.
Further tests this year, Dr Zylinski found that both species reflected twice as much light in their transparent state as in the opaque state.

She said shallow-water cephalopods will change their body patterns for a shadow or shape passing overhead, but deeper water animals do not.
Both the Japetella heathi and Onychoteuthis banksii tracked the movement of probes and objects moving around them, but stayed transparent.
It was only when they were exposed to light, an unusual phenomenon in the depths, that they went opaque.

Dr Zylinski said: 'Smaller young animals are found higher in the water column and have fewer chromatophores, so they are more reliant on transparency, which makes sense because there won't be predators using searchlights there.'
But the mature adults have a higher density of chromatophores, making them potentially more opaque, and they can be found in deeper waters where bioluminescence becomes the dominant light source.

source: dailymail

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Shocktopuss! Horrifying moment squid comes back to life and jumps off plate

Staying alive: The squid is now in full swing and looks as if it's dancing

Diners in Japan looking for a moving experience over dinner can now order a squid that dances off their plate.

A restaurant has created a dish, named Odori don - literally meaning dancing squid rice bowl - by adding soy sauce to a fresh squid.

The high salt content in the sauce reacts with ions in cells of the squids' tentacles creating voltage differences, and making the squid move.


Dancing juice: The squid is placed on a bed of rice before soy sauce is added

To prepare the dish, chefs at Ikkatei Tabiji, in Hakodate, Japan, first remove the head of the squid before serving the body, with tentacles intact, over a bowl of sushi rice.

Seasoned soy sauce is then poured over it.

As the squid is served so fresh, when the sauce is added signals across nerve cell membranes are re-activated temporarily, making it 'come back to life'


Itchy feet: The squid appears to get up and start moving out of the bowl

The body is then removed and prepared by the chef to be served as a side accompaniment.

The meal, which is proving popular with diners, costs around ¥2,000 or £15.30 per person


Staying alive: The squid is now in full swing and looks as if it's dancing

The dish is such a success that the restaurant have patented the name of the creation.

Now other restaurants in the area have begun making their own versions of the Hakodate dish, under different names.



source: dailymail

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Ghost of the abyss: Eerie dance of the deep-sea octopus captured on video 1.25 miles under the Pacific Ocean

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Boo! It may look like a computer game baddie, but this ghostly looking creature is one of the world's most rarely seen deep-sea octopods


It could be screenshot from ghost house level of the latest Super Mario video game blockbuster.

But these ghostly images in fact show a rarely seen deep-sea octopus captured in its natural habitat, deep on the ocean floor.

The octopuses feature two wing-like fins, which make them appear like Boos, the ghostly adversaries from the Mario series.


Abyssal zone: Researchers piloted a remote sub 1.25miles under the ocean to capture this Grimpoteuthis bathynectes octopus in its natural habitat


A remotely piloted camera plunged to 6600 ft (1.25 miles) into the abyss off the coast of Oregon, on the U.S. Pacific Northwest, to capture this Grimpoteuthis bathynectes octopus in its natural habitat.

Researchers from the University of Washington, who piloted the robot sub, captured these images during a 2005 expedition, but the video has just been released.


Inky black: Sea creatures from this far down need no colouration - light from the sun cannot penetrate to these depths The dumbo octopuses live close to the hydrothermal vent spouting from the underwater volcanoes at the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean.


They are the deepest dwellers of any octopus species, typically living at depths of 3000–4000m, with some living up to 7000m below sea level.

Hovering above the very bottom of the deep, they scour the sands searching for worms, bivalves, pelagic copepods, and other crustaceans for food.


Chilly: With temperatures dropping as low as 2C, these octopuses can only survive close to geothermal springs spouting from an undersea volcanic range


They move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, and by waving their ear-like fins.

Like most bottom dwellers, the dumbo octopuses have no pigmentation, since colouration has no use in an environment without light.

Little else is known about the creatures since, at these depths, the conditions are inhospitable and even most submarines would be crushed like a soft drinks can under a tractor.

The pressure from the vast weight of sea water can reach up to 11,000 pounds per square inch, and the temperature drops to a chilly 2-3C.

As no sunlight reaches this layer of the ocean, deep sea creatures have adapted to reduced eyesight, with their large eyes detecting only bioluminescent flashes.


Graceful: The dumbo octopuses move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, and by waving their ear-like fins


Survival of the fittest: Little else is known about the creatures since, at these depths, the conditions are inhospitable and even most submarines would be crushed like a soft drinks can under a tractor


Octopus Ballet



source: dailymail

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Now octo-PUSH! The moment sea mother hatched thousands of eight-legged babies

By JANE BUNCE

Tiny: The hatchlings were each just 0.04 inches long


Scientists have caught on film the moment that thousands of tiny octopi emerged from their eggs and floated into the world.

The real octomum surprised biologists by giving birth soon after she was acquired by the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in January - until that point, they had not known that she was female.

The Caribbean Octopus vulgaris laid thousands of eggs and attached them to a rock near the large glass bottle in which she had taken up residence.


On display: The octomum took up residence inside a glass bottle, giving visitors the opportunity to see the birth process


After standing guard over her babies for three weeks, the eggs hatched, sending a stream of octopi floating up towards the water's surface. Biologist Richard Ross caught the event on film from start to finish and posted it on his blog at Advanced Aquarist.

The aquarium staff fed the hatchlings - which were each just 0.04 inches long - on even tinier brine shrimp and zooplankton.

But Mr Ross said the story had a sad ending as the octopi, also known as paralarvae, are hard to keep alive in captivity and the mother's life also ends soon after she gives birth.


Seafood: Aquarium staff fed the octopi on brine shrimp and zooplankton


'While eggs being laid in captivity is generally an exciting event, this particular species, like many but not all octopus, stops eating after it lays eggs and dies soon after they hatch,' he said.

'Although we weren't able to raise the hatchlings to maturity, something few have done (if at all), we were able to keep them alive for 26 days, and the image of a waterfall of tiny octopus paralarve flowing up from the egg mass to the surface of the water is something I don’t think we will ever forget.'

O. vulgaris hatchlings hatching from Richard Ross on Vimeo.

source: dailymail

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He'll always be on the ball now: Paul the Octopus receives permanent memorial in honour of World Cup predictions

By LEWIS BAZLEY

On the ball: Paul the Octopus's monument is unveiled at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen today


He'll go down in history as one of the faces of 2010 but now three months after his death, Paul the Octopus today received a permanent memorial.

The cephalopod shot to fame last summer after correctly predicting the results of several matches in the football World Cup in South Africa.

And after he passed away in his sleep in October, Paul's former carers at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, decided the octopus should be given a shrine to mark his seemingly expert predictions.


The ashes of the tentacled creature are contained in a golden octopus urn visible through a see-through screen


Golden moment: The urn of a sculpture of Paul inside the ball


The tentacled creature correctly predicted the outcome of eight matches at the 2010 World Cup, including Germany's thrashing of England and Spain's victory over the Netherlands in the final.

He cost bookmakers thousands after floating languidly towards boxes of mussels draped in the colours of competing teams in the South African tournament last year.

The aquarium where Paul lived first mooted the idea of erecting a memorial to the octopus after his death last year and now the soothsayer's legacy has been enshrined with the permanent monument.

The statue is around 1.80 metres high with Paul straddled on top of a football, with a see-through window displaying a goden urn containing the octopus's ashes.


World Cup star: Paul the Octopus predicted the results of all seven of Germany's matches at the 2010 World Cup, as well as the final


Predictive Paul: The octopus oracle has been honoured with a shrine after his death at a German aquarium


A successor to Paul, a French octopus named Paul II, was unveiled at the aquarium on November 3 after spending two months in quarantine.

He has yet to attempt to follow his predecessor's fortune-telling but it is thought the Sea Life Centre may tempt him with flag-covered mussel treats for the 2012 European Championships in Ukraine and Poland.

After the original Paul's death last year, Stefan Porwoll, manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre, said: ‘Paul delighted people from all continents with his seven consecutive correct predictions for the matches of the German national team and for the final.


Guessing game: Paul shot to world renown after selecting mussel boxes emblazoned with the flags of the World Cup teams that would go on to win the matches in question


‘He was dear to all our hearts and we will sorely miss him. It is a comforting thought that he had a good life with us with the best possible care delivered by a committed team.

‘His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself.'


Object of affection: Photographers surround the monument of Paul


Memorial to World Cup Predicting Octopus Opens


source: dailymail

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Paul the psychic 'World Cup octopus' is found dead

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE


Paul correctly predicted the results of six World Cup games involving Germany, including the final when he went for Spain


He probably saw it coming. But for fans of Paul the psychic octopus, the news of his sudden death yesterday was a shock.

The British-born oracle, who dazzled the world with his accurate World Cup predictions over the summer, passed away peacefully in his tank in Germany.

His owners – who turned down lucrative offers for the octopus from zoos and restaurants around the world – say he died of natural causes, and that there was nothing fishy about his end.

Paul passed away in the night aged two and a half years, when all three of his hearts ceased to beat at once.

He was unmarried and leaves no larvae.

‘Management and staff of the Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium were devastated when Paul was found dead,’ the centre said in a statement.

‘We will erect a monument to the little brown octopus whose astounding predictive powers turned him into the true star of the tournament.’

The unlikely celebrity was one of the few bright spots in a bleak summer of World Cup football for England fans.

He correctly predicted Germany’s results throughout the championship by selecting mussels from boxes draped in the colours of teams about to meet on the pitch in South Africa.

He also correctly forecast the result of the final between Holland and Spain. The odds of him getting all eight predictions right were one in 256 – but he succeeded.

After his summer triumph he was appointed ambassador for England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. He spent his last few months in retirement, feasting on clams and mussels.

Yesterday, tributes to the octopus poured in from around the world.
‘Paul delighted people from all continents with his seven consecutive correct predictions for the matches of the German national team and for the final,’ said the aquarium’s general manager, Stefan Porwoll. ‘He was dear to all our hearts and we will sorely miss him. He died peacefully in the night of a natural death.

‘It is a comforting thought that he had a good life with us with the best possible care delivered by a committed team.

‘His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself.

‘We may decide to give Paul his own small burial plot within our grounds and erect a modest permanent shrine. While this may seem a curious thing to do for a sea creature, Paul achieved such popularity during his short life that it may be deemed the most appropriate course of action.’

Paul was hatched from an egg in January 2008 at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, where he spent his formative years as a larva before moving to Germany.

After predicting Spain’s World Cup victory he became a hero in Iberia, and Spanish businessmen raised around £26,000 as a ‘transfer fee’ to have Paul as the main attraction at a gastronomic festival.

Manuel Pazo, a fisherman and head of a business club in the northwestern Spanish town of O Carballino, made assurances that Paul would be presented alive in a tank and not on the menu. But his owners rejected the offer.

Paul will achieve immortality in a range of enterprises, from clothing lines to mobile phone applications. He will also feature in a documentary to be released next year.

His final prediction was that England would win the right to host the World Cup in 2018.



source: dailymail

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He didn't see that one coming: Paul the psychic 'World Cup octopus' is found dead

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE

Paul correctly predicted the results of six World Cup games involving German, including the final when he went for Spain


Paul the octopus, who won unlikely worldwide fame correctly predicting a host of World Cup matches, has died, his owners said today.

Stefan Porwoll, manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre in Germany, said: 'His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself.'

Paul predicted the winners of all Germany's World Cup clashes, and then of the final by selecting one of two boxes, each loaded with a mussel food treat and marked on the outside with one of the teams.

Staff at the centre said his death was not entirely unexpected, since common octopuses generally only live a couple of years.

'He appears to have passed away peacefully during the night, of natural causes, and we are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life here,' said Mr Porwoll.
'We may decide to give Paul his own small burial plot within our grounds and erect a modest permanent shrine.'

Paul will live on meanwhile in the form of a range of commercial enterprises ranging from special clothing lines to mobile phone applications.

He will also feature in a documentary to be released early next year.



source: dailymail

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Iranian president Ahmadinejad denounces superstitious West over Paul the Octopus

By Allan Hall

In retirement: Paul has stopped predicting football results after correctly guessing the outcome of Germany's seven World Cup matches


Germans want to eat him, Spaniards want to beatify him and bookmakers want to hire him.

But Paul the Octopus is a symbol of all that is wrong with the Western world, according to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Paul became a global celebrity when he correctly predicted the result of all seven German World Cup matches and Spain’s victory over Holland in the final.

He did so by choosing one of two boxes labelled with a team’s national flag in his tank, each of which contained a mussel.

The octopus, which lives at an aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, was mentioned by Ahmadinejad several times during a speech in Tehran at the weekend.

He said Paul spread ‘Western propaganda and superstition’.

‘Those who believe in this type of thing cannot be the leaders of the global nations that aspire, like Iran, to human perfection, basing themselves in the love of all sacred values,’ he added.

Paul represents decadence and decay among Iran’s enemies, the president said.

source: dailymail

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An Octopus named Paul, Perfect prediction record

An octopus named Paul swims past a football on July 9, 2010 at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany. Paul, the 'psychic' octopus with a perfect prediction record, decided Spain will win the football World Cup for the first time in their history. The eight-legged oracle, who has become a World Cup sensation by correctly predicting all six Germany games, very quickly plumped for Spain carried live on national German television.


*** Scroll down to watch vdo ***



An octopus named Paul swims in his aquarium on July 9, 2010 at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany. Paul, the 'psychic' octopus with a perfect prediction record, decided Spain will win the football World Cup for the first time in their history. The eight-legged oracle, who has become a World Cup sensation by correctly predicting all six Germany games, very quickly plumped for Spain carried live on national German television.




An octopus named Paul swims past a football on July 9, 2010 at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany. Paul, the 'psychic' octopus with a perfect prediction record, decided Spain will win the football World Cup for the first time in their history. The eight-legged oracle, who has become a World Cup sensation by correctly predicting all six Germany games, very quickly plumped for Spain carried live on national German television.




An octopus named Paul sits on a football in his on July 9, 2010 at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany. Paul, the 'psychic' octopus with a perfect prediction record, decided Spain will win the football World Cup for the first time in their history. The eight-legged oracle, who has become a World Cup sensation by correctly predicting all six Germany games, very quickly plumped for Spain carried live on national German television.




An octopus named Paul sits on a box decorated with a Spanish flag and a shell inside on July 9, 2010 at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany. Paul's task is to decide in favour of one of the shells hidden in boxes with the flags of the Netherlands and Spain to act thus as oracle for the upcoming final match of the FIFA Football World Cup between the two countries on July 11, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Paul, the 'psychic' octopus, who had predicted well the result of six German matches earlier in the tournament, predicted Spain will win the football World Cup for the first time in their history.




An octopus named Paul sits on a box with decorated with a German flag and a shell inside on July 9, 2010 at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany. Paul's task is to decide in favour of one of the shells hidden in boxes with the flags of Germany (R) and Uruguay to act thus as oracle for the upcoming 'small final', the third-place play-off game, of the FIFA Football World Cup between the two countries on July 10, 2010 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Paul, the 'psychic' octopus, who had predicted well the result of six matches earlier in the tournament, this time decided for Germany.

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2010 World Cup prediction - Paul The Octopus

Football's psychic sea creature - Paul The Octopus - is making yet another World Cup prediction. But this time, the eight-tentacled oracle is betting on Spain winning the semi-final against his home country, Germany. Paul has a perfect record when it comes to predicting the outcome of Germany's World Cup matches. So fans better keep their fingers crossed for Wednesday's clash. The psychic cephalopod's even gained a few worldwide followers of his own. And there's no truth to the rumour that if Paul turns out to be right this time, he could end up on the sushi menu.




source: youtube

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The amazing octopuses that make their own mobile homes... from coconut shells

These incredible pictures show octopuses making their own mobile homes from discarded coconut shells - in what scientists believe is the first 'intelligent' use of tools by an invertebrate.


Researchers studied more than 20 of the eight-legged creatures in Indonesia, watching how they recycled the shell halves thrown into the sea by humans.

The animals did much more than simply crawl under a convenient shell. They collected coconut halves of the right size, stacked two together, and transported them under their bodies over distances of up to 20 metres.


See video clip octopus in coconut shell click here...


Sea legs: A veined octopus crawls along the ocean floor holding one half of a coconut shell.

Scientists filmed the creatures displaying the unusually sophisticated behavior
The shell 'bowls' were then unloaded and placed with their open ends together to form a closeable lair.

To carry the shells, the octopuses developed a comical form of locomotion, dubbed 'stilt walking' by the researchers.

The soft-bodied creature would first spread itself over a consignment of coconut shells, making its eight tentacles rigid.

It would then raise the whole assembly to amble on eight 'stilts' across the sea floor.

This made what the octopuses were doing very different from the actions of hermit crabs, which house themselves in empty mollusc shells, the scientists pointed out.

'There is a fundamental difference between picking up a nearby object and putting it over your head as protection versus collecting, arranging, transporting (awkwardly), and assembling portable armour as required,' said Dr Mark Norman, from the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.

Colleague Julia Finn, who also took part in the research, added: 'While I have observed and videoed octopuses hiding in shells many times, I never expected to find an octopus that stacks multiple coconut shells and jogs across the sea floor carrying them.

Sophisticated: The octopuses were seen performing elaborate routines to pick up and transport their shells. Their 'intelligent' use of the shells is very different to the actions of creatures such as hermit crabs

'I could tell that the octopus, busy manipulating coconut shells, was up to something, but I never expected it would pick up the stacked shells and run away. It was an extremely comical sight - I have never laughed so hard underwater.'

The research is reported in the journal Current Biology.

'Ultimately, the collection and use of objects by animals is likely to form a continuum stretching from insects to primates, with the definition of tools providing a perpetual opportunity for debate,' the scientists wrote.

'However, the discovery of this octopus tiptoeing across the sea floor with its prized coconut shells suggests that even marine invertebrates engage in behaviours that we once thought the preserve of humans.'

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