A breed of octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) has started using coconut shells as portable armor. The end is nigh. The second video below is longer but doesn’t have the narration of the first video. I suggest playing “Yakety Sax” in the background to lend audio to the second video.
Some marine biologists are exitedly calling this “the first recorded example of tool use in invertebrates”, which prompted one blogger to spit out some funyuns and yell, “Nuh uh! It’s only tool use if they use the coconut shell to act upon another object, such as using them for food preparation or as a weapon.” I lead a charmed life, dashing the joy of others like I dash squid against rocks. If only the squid knew how to defend themselves with a hard shell from something.
See how well they sync up?
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Whoa! Set phasers to “Three Snaps in a Z Formation”!
If they team up with monkeys and robots, you’ll be able to find me at the gun store.
Zoidberg will have you know that living in a coconut is way better than living in a trash can.
Many, many…many years ago in marine biology class in high school, we had an octopus in the aquarium who hung her clutch of eggs in a concrete block. A sea cucumber nosed its way in, and the octopus picked up a rock and began pounding on it (yes, snicker away about pounding on a cucumber). The teacher about bounced off the walls shouting, “She’s using a tool!” (snicker)
Technically a weapon, I suppose.