Various individuals belonging to the species Octopus chierchiae
Liu et al., 2023, PLoS One, CC-BY 4.0
The distinct stripes of dwarf octopus species vary from individual to individual and may help researchers monitor rare animals.
pygmy zebra octopus (octopus chierchiae), also known as the less endemic striped octopus, lives in the shallow waters of the Pacific coast of the Americas and has alternating brown and white stripes.
Benjamin Liu and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, who felt that little was known about animals or their interactions with their environment, raised two adult males and two adult females in the lab. bred.
The team then raised 25 octopus larvae individually and photographed and videoed them once a week for about two years.
The octopuses became visible to the naked eye at about two weeks of age and fully visible at four weeks of age. Because pygmy zebra octopuses frequently change their appearance to resemble their surroundings in response to disturbances, researchers focused only on patterns lasting hours or days.
They found that each of the 25 octopuses had a unique striped pattern.
Volunteers who were shown pictures of octopuses were even able to distinguish whether the pictures were of the same octopus or two different octopuses with an average accuracy of 84.2%.
This suggests that individual pygmy zebra octopuses may be repeatedly identified and monitored in the wild over time to aid in their conservation, the researchers wrote in their paper. Because these octopuses are rare and delicate, they should ideally be studied so as not to remove them from their natural environment, they write.
The stripes of pygmy zebra octopuses appear to vary among individuals, but it is unknown why they have these stripes. The study’s author, Roy Caldwell, said, “The fact that they can turn their stripes on and off, and even do so unilaterally, suggests that they are being used to communicate, or at least signal more. It suggests that it is used for clarity.
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