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How Octopuses Squeeze Through Too-Small Gaps
Common octopuses used up to four steps to pass tighter holes, while Mayan octopuses often refused the narrow openings, researchers said.
- A new study published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology reveals octopuses do not use a "one size fits all" approach when squeezing through tight openings.
- Wenci Xin, a robotics researcher at the National University of Singapore, measured eye distance to approximate cranial cartilage width, which ranged from about 0.6 to 1.3 inches and dictates physical limits.
- Common octopuses successfully transitioned between boxes in about 20 seconds, using three steps for wider holes and adding a fourth phase to compress their mantle and body through narrower gaps.
- Mayan octopuses proved more cautious, consistently avoiding narrow holes entirely, a difference researchers attribute to environmental adaptations in their native sandy, rocky habitats.
- Xin hopes these findings will inspire soft robots that morph shapes, stating, "This incredible capability could enable robots to overcome environmental limitations and enter spaces that are difficult to reach.
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How octopuses squeeze through too-small gaps
Octopuses are extraordinarily versatile. From walking across the seabed on their eight arms to jetting through the water, manipulating tools and squeezing through unimaginably tight spaces, the flexibility of octopuses almost defies belief. "Octopuses can change their body shape to squeeze through tiny holes, almost like water flowing through a gap, so their size doesn't always limit where they can go," says Wenci Xin from the National Universit…
·Douglas, United Kingdom
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The octopuses use their eight arms in a variety of ways, including squeezing through the narrowest cracks. Researchers have looked at the tentacles very carefully.
Zeit Online+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
·Germany
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left2Leaning Right1Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
L 22%
C 67%
11%
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