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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Quantifying Bivalve Suspension Feeding at Sea

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An ethogram for Benthic Octopods (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae).

Jennifer A Mather¹, Jean S Alupay²

¹Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge.

Journal of Comparative Psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983)

|April 15, 2016

Summary

Octopuses exhibit complex behaviors and skin displays through coordinated movements of body parts and muscular hydrostats. This study provides a framework for understanding how simple actions create diverse octopus movements and appearances.

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Establishing an Octopus Ecosystem for Biomedical and Bioengineering Research

Establishing an Octopus Ecosystem for Biomedical and Bioengineering Research

Published on: September 22, 2021

Area of Science:

Marine Biology
Ethology
Animal Behavior

Background:

Octopuses (family Octopodidae) possess flexible bodies and sophisticated skin displays.
Understanding the behavioral repertoire and visual signaling of octopuses is crucial for marine biology.

Purpose of the Study:

To construct a general ethogram for octopus actions and skin displays.
To analyze the combination of body part movements producing behavioral units.
To identify the muscular actions underlying skin display changes.

Main Methods:

Systematic observation and documentation of octopus actions.
Analysis of movements involving six body structures: mantle-funnel, arms, sucker-stalk, skin-web, head, and mouth.
Categorization of skin display changes: chromatophore expansion/contraction, papillae erection, and posture control.

Main Results:

Identified behavioral units include positioning, self-related movements (head bob, grooming), and locomotion (jetting, crawling).
Documented four key skin display changes: chromatophore activity, reflective color appearance, papillae erection, and postural control.
Observed diverse appearances like camouflage, moving cloud patterns, and iridescent rings, with limited species-specific sexual displays.

Conclusions:

Octopus behavior and appearance arise from the combination of movements from distinct body parts.
Despite complex movements and displays, underlying production mechanisms may be simple.
The proposed framework facilitates modeling the diversity of octopus behavior from a few variables.