Researchers Find Octopuses Can Use Their Arms To Detect Taste

There is no denying just how incredible nature is. While we might think we know things about the ocean and the sea creatures living in it, science shows us new things to be impressed by.

We know the octopus to be a very clever and elusive underwater creature that has amazing camouflage abilities. However, there is now something else to add to the list of impressive attributes of this animal.

Photo: YouTube/nature video

As it turns out, octopuses can detect taste through touch! Scientists have discovered that they can detect taste using touch through chemotactile receptors which are located on the suckers of their arms.

According to a research paper, these receptors act like a filter, differentiating between different chemical signals that are left by matter which isn’t dissolved by water.

Photo: YouTube/nature video

They can pick up these matter signals in the water floating by them, meaning that it helps them find their prey easier.

As explained on YouTube, “Octopuses hunt for prey in cracks and crevices along the seabed using ‘taste-by-touch‘ – the ability to detect chemical signals simply by touching them. Now researchers have identified the molecular makeup of a chemo-tactile receptor that makes this possible.”

Photo: YouTube/nature video

A second research paper shows that squids have similar receptors to octopuses, however, there is a difference – particularly in how they are used.

Further adding, researchers said in a Nature paper, “Similar receptors are also found in squid, but there are differences that mirror differences in the animals’ hunting behaviors; whereas octopuses feel for their prey, squid pull things towards themselves before deciding whether or not to eat it.”

Watch the video below:

What do you think of the new facts about octopuses discovered by scientists? Don’t you think they’re just fascinating creatures? Let us know!

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