By Michelle
Warwicker, Reporter, BBC Nature
Female
octopuses go to extra lengths when stretching their arms to reach food, a study
has found.
Scientists in Italy measured
octopuses' arm extensions as they reached up a tube towards tasty bait.
They found for
the first time that octopuses' arm elongation ability differed depending on
their sex and size.
The findings
are published in the Journal
of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.
Scientists had
expected to find that smaller octopuses elongated their arms further than
larger animals, but "more surprising was the difference between males and
females similar in body size", said research team member Dr Laura
Margheri, from the BioRobotics Institute at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
university in Pisa , Italy .
In the wild,
octopuses employ their flexible appendages in a range of activities such as
cleaning, defending themselves, capturing prey and mating.
Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21966304
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