Explained: How octopuses squeeze through impossible gaps smaller than their bodies

Explained: How octopuses squeeze through impossible gaps smaller than their bodies Octopuses can slip through openings smaller than their own bodies, and new research shows that common octopuses change tactics depending on how tight the squeeze is. The finding could help engineers build rescue robots that wriggle through rubble.

The study filmed young common octopuses and Mayan octopuses escaping from clear Perspex boxes through holes of different sizes. Nobody had examined exactly how the animals manage gaps far narrower than their mantles, said Wenci Xin of the National University of Singapore. Michael Kuba of the University of Naples Federico II and Tamar Gunit and Daniel Abed-Navandi of Austria's Haus des Meeres-Aqua Terra Zoo also took part.