We all know the answer to that one, but researchers have proved that the one thing we all think we know about the octopus is wrong. It has six arms and two legs! The researchers were surprised to find that our most basic assumptions about the creatures are in fact incorrect…

It had always been presumed that the octopus used it’s tentacles in two equal sets, one set for propulsion and one for manipulation. But the researchers wanted to find out if they favoured one side to another or were multi-dexterous. Claire Little, who led the research at Weymouth, where the project was devised, said: “We’ve found that octopuses effectively have six arms and two legs. “ It had been thought they used four tentacles for movement and the other four for feeding and manipulating objects, but observations showed that they use the rearmost two to get around over rocks and the seabed. They also use these two legs to push off when they wish to swim, and then other tentacles are used to propel them.”

One of the most intelligent of marine creatures, they were given a variety of toys like the rubic cube to play with and were observed as to the use of the limbs that were preferred. The research was conducted at 20 centres over Europe. “More than half of the octopuses studied were found to display no bias at all for either right or left-sided limbs. The rest were split fairly evenly between those preferring the right side and those favouring the left. An octopus’s eyes are angled towards the front of its body, so if it used its eyes to determine which tentacles it mobilised, you would expect the choice to favour those more directly in its line of view. That was precisely what we found.” Ms Little continued, Ms Little said: “We identified seven octopuses that genuinely do prefer one side over the other, possibly because of some weakness in the other eye. If any of those animals should fall sick, we can now care for them that little bit more efficiently by delivering food and medication from the direction they prefer. As with any sickly animal, any measure that reduces stress, however slightly, can make a crucial difference.”

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