Octopus

Today's octopuses are intelligent, remarkably flexible animals that lurk in reefs, hide in crevices, or drift through the deep sea. But new research suggests that their earliest relatives may have played a far more predatory role in ocean ecosystems. A study led by researchers at Hokkaido University has found that the earliest known octopuses were giant predators that hunted at the very top of the food web, alongside large marine vertebrates. The study is published in Science.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet Capulet in William Shakespeare's famous play. And the same is presumably true for mollusks, albeit with different odors. When you think about the scientific names of animals, including our own species, Homo sapiens, it's tempting to see these as neutral, objective labels. But Taro Yoshimura, a researcher in evolutionary paleontology at the University Museum, the University of Tokyo, sees scientific names as time capsules that reflect […]

Happy Saturday! This week, researchers reported on the familiar phenomenon of speeding away from a slower-driving car only to have it catch up at the next traffic light—they've named it Voorhees law, after the well-known movie slasher who always catches up to his victims. A study finds that nonpsychotropic cannabinoid CBD reverses brain damage in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. And scientists are testing methods to regrow joints damaged by arthritis.

For mating male octopuses, one limb is more important than all others. That is the third right arm or hectocotylus, which is used to transfer sperm to the female because the penis cannot do it directly. Losing the limb can severely affect their ability to father offspring, at least until a new one regenerates. That is why they take extra care to avoid damaging it or losing it to a predator, according to new research published in the journal Ethology.

A famous 300-million-year-old fossil that was thought to be the world's oldest octopus—even featuring in the Guinness Book of Records—has turned out to be something else altogether. In what amounts to a case of mistaken identity, the fossil hid its true nature through decay 300 million years ago, before being fossilized.