Flex

No living creature can out-bend an octopus

by JoAnna Wendel
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Octopuses have the most flexible arms in the natural world, according to a new paper in Scientific Reports.
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A team of researchers filmed 10 octopuses over several months to capture more than 16,000 arm movements.

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These movements were broken down into four categories.

Bending and twisting
Elongating
And shortening
All eight arms of the octopus can make these movements in any orientation — left, right, up, or down.

The octopuses examined could combine movements, such as twisting while elongating or bending.

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Even the researchers, who are very familiar with octopuses already, were surprised at the animal's flexibility.

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Learning more about the octopus's intricate motor control could inform the field of soft robotics, the researchers said.

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