November 25, 2014

Soft Octopus Escape—and Paperback Octopus! Release [Video]

Octopuses long ago shed their ancestors’ protective shells in favor of a slinkier, floppier, softer existence. They were perhaps never meant to be held down by hard covers.

By Katherine Harmon Courage

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Octopuses long ago shed their ancestors' protective shells in favor of a slinkier, floppier, softer existence. They were perhaps never meant to be held down by hard covers. In fact, many scientists credit this unlikely evolution for their wily intelligence.

That is why I am extra excited for the publication of Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Seain paperback today!

In honor of this new, soft-bodied cousin, I thought it would be fitting to celebrate with an amazing video of one octopus showing off is awesome invertebrate powers. How? By squeezing its muscular hydrostat body through an opening just one inch in diameter.

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I can't promise the paperback edition will be able to perform such physical feats—without some irreparable mutilation anyway—but I do hope that it provides just as much awe and amazement as the real deal.

Enjoy the video. And learn more about all of the octopus's oddities in the book—now out in paperback. Or wrap your arms around a copy of the hard-shelled hardcover edition.

The video was made in part by octopus expert James Wood—one of the many amazing researches I got to speak with in writing the book.

Learn more about the strange world of the octopus in Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea, which publishes in paperback today!

Illustration courtesy of Ivan Phillipsen

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