What we can learn from the octopus - The Week Magazine

[octobot]

What we can learn from the octopus [SIZE=-1]The Week Magazine[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]An octopus silently descends onto its prey: The octopus is also an attractive target for predators, and often constructs a protective den in the rocks with a small peephole it can look out through. Photo: Jeffrey L. Rotman/CORBIS SEE ALL 72 PHOTOS FISH ...[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1][/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&ned=us&ncl=dpREy01vDGPrUeM[/SIZE]

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[DWhatley]

Other than the 8 legs in the title (and there are convincing observations that might classify some of the appendages as legs) the article author seemed to have a decent grasp on the biology of an octopus until ...

But blending into the background, disappearing in a flash, and biting (usually) are not ways to find a mate, and mating is as essential to survival as avoiding predators. For that, an opposite tack is needed — one that sets an individual apart from all others. Some octopuses, when spying a potential reproductive partner, will split their missions — the half of their body facing the mate will pulse with a psychedelic display of color, but the half facing the rest of the world (including other competing male octopuses) is dull and inconspicuous, as if to say, "nothing special going on here."