A new study indicates that octopus skin exudes a compound that prevents it from getting stuck to the animal’s own suckers. (Photo credit: Joe Parks, via Flickr)
New research indicates that octopus skin exudes a chemical substance that repels its own suckers.
Octopus arms – which remain alive for up to an hour after amputation – do not grab octopus skin or objects covered in octopus skin, although they will grab skinned octopus parts. This suggests a chemical repulsion, though the researchers have yet to describe the exact substance responsible.
Interestingly, live octopus can override this reaction to grab and eat arms of their deceased kin.
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Original research paper published in the the Journal Current Biology on May 15, 2014.
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