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Octopus Intelligence 2.2meg wmv file
Octopus Intelligence

Reef Cuttlefish closeup 1.9meg wmv file
Reef Cuttlefish
Cuttle Fish Pulsing 3.9meg wmv file
Cuttlefish Pulse
Octopus Movement 3.6meg wmv file
Octopus Movement

NAUTILUS   OCTOPUS  SQUID & CUTTLEFISH

Research on Cephalopods

The cephalopods include the octopus, nautilus, squid and cuttlefish that are the most highly developed of all invertebrate groups. This class of molluscs have well developed nervous system, brain and eyes, with octopus being the subject of experiments where they successfully solved problems. 

Most cephalopods 'live hard and die young' having fast growth rates and only a 1-3 year life-span.  There are hundreds of cephalopod species worldwide in all undersea habitats, and surprisingly few inhabiting the coral reefs. 

Dr Mark Norman and Andy Dunstan,  head  the Undersea Explorer cephalopod project - a non profit study of Australian cephalopods funded by the Gro-Sea Foundation. Dr Norman has studied cephalopods throughout the Western Pacific and has commented on how little the group is known to science. He's personally discovered more than 100 new species, 44 of them in Australia.

This project aims to look at octopus species and cuttlefish along the northern Great Barrier Reefs and at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. Included in the overall cephalopod project is the ongoing study of  the nautilus population in the depths of Osprey Reef -  a capture-record-tag-release program has been underway for five years.

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permission must be obtained to use the cephalopod research material and photographs

 

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