Biologists from Rockefeller University in New York have managed to videotape the unusual behavior of an octopus, which they say is like waking up from a nightmare. Scientists’ research preprint published in the bioRxiv repository.
The cephalopod Costello was filmed 24 hours a day for a month in a lab at Rockefeller University in New York. In four cases, the animal “suddenly” awoke, changed color and randomly shook its tentacles. On two occasions, an octopus sprayed black ink into the water, a common tactic used to evade predators, even though it was not a predator.
“His behavior made him think he was under stress, which could indicate that he was having a bad dream. It was really strange: At first he seemed to be in pain, and then he stood up and went about his usual day as if nothing had happened,” the biologists said.
When the octopus arrived at the lab, biologists said that two of the octopus’ tentacles were partially missing. This indicates that he may have survived the attack.
“Costello may have reacted to memories of the attack. In fact, he once had a dream about how he was attacked,” the authors concluded.