Researchers reveal how octopuses squeeze and escape through tiny holes

An octopus squeezing through a tiny hole can look as though it is pouring itself through the opening. Close-up recordings reveal something more organized: a sequence of probing, repositioning and bracing that helps the animal pull its body past the barrier.Researchers working with the National University of Singapore, the University of Naples Federico II and Vienna’s Haus des Meeres–Aqua Terra Zoo documented two versions of that sequence. Their study in the Journal of Experimental Biology examines movements that could inform flexible machines built for cramped environments.The research team included Wenci Xin, Michael J. Kuba, Tamar Gutnick, Daniel Abed-Navandi and Cecilia Laschi. They studied common octopuses, Octopus vulgaris, and conducted additional exploratory experiments with Mayan octopuses, Octopus maya.