好奇怪！但好喜欢！关于章鱼你所不知道的那些知识

说起章鱼，我们的印象是什么呢？海绵宝宝里的章鱼哥，预测世界杯结果的章鱼保罗，日本动画片里的怪物，还是，美味可口的章鱼小丸子？章鱼动作敏捷但长相很奇怪或者叫超凡脱俗，张开触手后变得更加突出——几个世纪以来，我们对章鱼的印象一直如此。

Octopuses, those whip-smart but bizarre cephalopods, and they seem to embody everything creepy and mysterious about the sea. With their otherworldly forms, heightened by unfurling arms–the thought of their soft spongy bodies lurking in the oceans’ dark expanse has inspired us for centuries.

他们会使用工具 They Use Tools

是的，像黑猩猩、海豚和乌鸦一样，章鱼是独特的会使用工具的智能动物。2009年，科学家报告说，他们曾看到有纹理的章鱼捡起被丢弃的椰子壳，并把它们用作移动房屋。

Yes, like chimpanzees, dolphins, and crows, octopuses are among the unique set of intelligent animals that have been observed using tools. In 2009, scientists reported they had watched veined octopuses picking up discarded coconut shells and using them as mobile homes.

章鱼很古老Octopuses Are Ancient

已知最古老的章鱼化石属于2.9亿年前的石炭纪。这种特殊的标本属于一个叫Pohlsepia的物种，正在芝加哥的菲尔德博物馆展出。更深入的研究揭示了八只胳膊和两只眼睛的神话般的形象。这表明，在恐龙时代之前的数百万年前，章鱼就出现并定形了。

The oldest known octopus fossil belongs to one that lived over 290 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. This specific specimen belongs to a species named Pohlsepia and is on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. An in-depth examination reveals the tell-tale sign of eight arms and two eyes. This suggests that long before life on land had progressed beyond small pre-dinosaur reptiles, octopuses had already established their shape millions of years ago.

章鱼竟然有三颗心脏Octopuses Have Three Hearts

两个心脏专门来循环鳃以外的血液。与此同时，第三个保持循环流动供给器官所用。章鱼游泳时，向器官供血的心脏停止跳动，这解释了章鱼喜欢爬行而不是游泳的原因，因为游泳会让它们精疲力尽。

Two of the hearts work exclusively to move blood beyond the animal’s gills. At the same time, the third keeps circulation flowing for the organs. The organ heart stops beating when the octopus swims, explaining the species’ penchant for crawling rather than swimming, which exhausts them.

章鱼的触手也有意识Octopus Have Their Minds in Their Arms

Most of an octopus’ neurons reside in its arms, not its head. As a result, their arms can solve problems like how to open a shellfish while they are busy doing something else, like inspecting a cave for more edible goodies. Their arms can even react after they’ve been completely severed.

章鱼的大部分神经元位于它的触手上，而非位于它的头部。因此，当章鱼忙于做其他事情时（比如检查洞穴中是否有更多可食用的食物时）它的触手可以解决一些问题（比如，如何打开贝类）。它们的触手甚至可以在被完全切断后仍有反应。

章鱼喷射墨汁的作用不仅仅是隐身Octopus Ink Does More Than Hide Them

墨汁还可能对敌人造成身体伤害，因为它含有一种叫做酪氨酸酶的化合物，会引起致盲的刺激。它还会扰乱动物的嗅觉和味觉。这种防御性的墨汁是如此的强大，以至于无法逃脱自己墨团的章鱼可能会死亡。

Ink can also physically harm their enemies as it contains a compound called tyrosinase, which brings about a blinding irritation. It also confuses the creatures’ sense of smell and taste. The defensive concoction is so potent that octopuses that do not escape their own ink cloud can die.

章鱼的血是蓝色的Their Blood Is Blue

蓝血贵族！是不是想起来小说《蓝血人》了？章鱼产生了一种称为血蓝蛋白的含铜（而非像人和其他动物那样含铁）的血液，会使章鱼的血液变成蓝色。当周围氧气不多且水温很低时，这种血蓝蛋白比血红蛋白更能有效地输送氧气。但这种结构也使它们对酸度的变化高度敏感。如果周围水的pH值降得太低，章鱼就不能获得足够的氧气。

Octopuses developed a copper rather than iron-based blood called hemocyanin, which turns their blood blue. This copper base is more effective at transporting oxygen than hemoglobin when there is not much oxygen around, and the water temperature is very low. But this structure also causes them to be hypersensitive to changes in acidity. If the surrounding water’s pH drops too low, octopuses can’t circulate enough oxygen.

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