It is not the first time that we have discovered that octopods have unique capabilities: from changing the color of their skin, their shape or even their texture, not only in order to camouflage themselves but also as a means of communication with their environment. Now, a new study by scientists at the University of California in Santa Barbara (USA) has concluded that octopus skin works like eyes .
Until now, science had discovered that octopuses used their sophisticated eyes to send a signal to the skin in order to change their body color. But it doesn’t end here. The system of native California octopuses ( Octopus bimaculoides ) is capable of sensing light without the need to obtain that signal through the eyes or through the Central Nervous System.
This is because the skin of these cephalopods contains various light-sensitive proteins called rhodopsins , which coincidentally are the same type as those contained in the eyes. Thus, any part of its body is able to notice changes in light and respond to them without the need for the octopus to process the information through its brain.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists exposed various octopuses to light to see how the chromatophores in the skin expanded or changed color . Thus, with different wavelengths, the experts discovered that this system works faster with blue light.
“Octopus skin does not perceive light with the same detail as when the animal uses its eyes or brain, but it can perceive an increase or change in light. Their skin does not detect edges or contrast, but it does detect brightness ”, explains Desmond Ramirez, co-author of the work.
The study, which suggests that this particularity is the product of evolutionary adaptation, has been published in The Journal of Experimental Biology.
