Guess Which Arms Octopuses Use Most?

Scientists have discovered that while octopuses don’t have a dominant arm like humans have a dominant hand, they do show a preference for using their four front arms more frequently.

A new study, based on years of video analysis of wild octopuses between 2007 and 2015 in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, found that the front arms performed around 60% of key tasks such as grabbing, exploring, and sensing, while the back arms were more involved in locomotion, like walking and rolling.

Unlike previous laboratory-based research, this large-scale field study confirms that octopuses don’t favor left or right limbs, instead distributing tasks across all eight arms.

Each arm is remarkably complex, containing 100 to 200 highly sensitive suckers that function like sensory organs, equivalent to the human nose, lips, and tongue.

The findings, published in Scientific Reports, highlight both the versatility and resilience of these elusive creatures, which can regenerate lost limbs and continue thriving despite frequent predator attacks.