A new analysis of underwater videos shows octopuses are 'incredible multitaskers'

For an octopus, almost any arm will do

For an octopus, almost any arm will do.

New research published Thursday shows that octopuses have the ability to use any of their eight limbs to perform tasks like reaching, tiptoeing or grasping.

“These animals are incredible multitaskers, so they’re able to perform multiple actions on one arm and on multiple arms at the same time,” said Kendra Buresch, a research biologist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and an author of the study. “Some other animals have different specializations for different parts of their body, whereas the octopus is really adapted to being able to use any of their arms in basically any situation.”

The findings, which were published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday, reveal new details on how the famously flexible creatures coordinate some of the most complex movements in the animal kingdom. Further research could help scientists understand how the animals evolved such neurologically complex motor skills.

The work could also help build robots for medical applications or to examine hard-to-reach areas. Octopuses are increasingly used as inspiration for soft robots, and this new inventory of arm movements could give engineers new insights, the study authors said.