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Mark D. Norman: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Mark D. Norman, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• One octopus can impersonate a sea snake, a lionfish and a flatfish — and switch fast

  Discovered in Indonesian waters in 1998, the mimic octopus doesn't just camouflage — it reshapes its body and movement to imitate the exact silhouette and swimming style of dangero…

  — Mark D. Norman and F.G. Hochberg, A New Octopus Species from the Tropical Indo-West Pacific

• An octopus was filmed carrying coconut shells across the seafloor to use as portable armor

  Marine biologists filmed veined octopuses off Indonesia collecting halved coconut shells, stacking them together, and awkwardly carrying them across open sand while walking on two …

  — Julian K. Finn, Tom Tregenza, and Mark D. Norman, Defensive Tool Use in a Coconut-Carrying Octopus

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