Nature & Environment

Sleeping octopus changes color as it 'dreams'

By T.K. Randall
March 12, 2019

Image: Octopus at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium
Credit: Pseudopanax / (PD) Recorded at Butterfly Pavilion - a nonprofit invertebrate zoo in Westminster, Colorado - the video (which can be viewed below) shows a snoozing octopus changing its coloration from light to dark.

What's interesting about this is that it opens up the possibility that cephalopods, like many animal species, may experience dreams during certain stages of sleep.

The changes in color and texture may be a response to something the animal is dreaming about.Typically an octopus will shift its appearance to help it camouflage against its surroundings, usually either to protect itself against a threat or to stay hidden from prey.

But do cephalopods actually dream when they sleep ? The answer is that we simply don't know.

"It's been hypothesized that octopus species can exhibit something very similar to REM cycles in humans," said aquarist Sara Stevens.

"But the jury's still out on whether they're achieving REM sleep."


Source: Live Science

Tags: Octopus, Dreaming, Sleeping