Top 3 smartest marine animals

Top 3 smartest marine animals

Marine animals are all those animals that live or spend a large part of their lives in water. Taking into account that the oceans represent 71% of the crust of our planet, it seems clear that there are many species of marine animals that exist, although they are also the most affected with respect to extinction, mainly due to fishing.

1°  CUTTLEFISH

Cuttlefish is a cephalopod from the squid family, its way of moving is more similar to that of a submarine than that of a fish, since cuttlefish have a porous internal bone that allows them to alter their buoyancy by compressing gases, in addition to have a jet of water and ink ejection that they use to escape predators. Undoubtedly an incredible animal, however it is not on this list for its anatomy but rather for its behavior, intelligence and resemblance to our species. To begin with, cuttlefish have one of the most developed eyes and most similar to ours, although they can perceive the polarization of light and do not have the ability to perceive colors, which is completely strange since cuttlefish can camouflage themselves by changing the color and the texture of his skin despite not being able to see colors.

Another impressive feature is their brain, which is the largest of all invertebrates. This allows them to relate objects to situations, even if the context changes, they can count, that is, to know at a glance which container is the most food, despite the fact that the container with more food has less density, they can solve mazes, they remember 2 things at once and they are curious and inquisitive. The greatest show of sepia intelligence is in the mating season when the largest males fight for the female while a small but ingenious male adopts the female pattern to approach her to mate.

2° THE MIME OCTOPUS

 

 The mime octopus is capable of imitating up to 15 species of marine animals such as sea snakes, rays, lionfish, jellyfish or crabs, its objective is to gain their trust and then attack ruthlessly. Under normal conditions this octopus is so special it has a brown coloration with white stripes. However, in order to imitate the other species around him, he is able to modify the color of his skin depending on the animal he wants to look like. But it is not only capable of copying the color of its prey. It is also capable of plagiarizing the movement of the animal that it wants to imitate.

 

Not only is it able to copy the figure, color, and movements of other animals that live in the sea, the octopus chooses its imitation based on the situation in which it finds itself. By this what we mean is that if you are being attacked, you mimic your predator's predator to scare and scare away the animal that is trying to attack you. On the other hand, if the intentions of this octopus are to feed, it takes the form of animals that attract their prey, such as animals of the same species or prey of their prey. He has been seen imitating crabs so that other crabs approach him, without any suspicion that they will be eaten.

3° THE COCONUT OCTOPUS

 

The scientific name of the coconut octopus is Amphioctopus marginatus, although it is also known as “veined octopus”. It is a cephalopod considered medium in size since its body measures around 8 cm. and its tentacles 15 cm. Its main food is clams, shrimp or crabs. It lives in the tropical waters of the Western Pacific Ocean, preferably in areas that have sandy bottoms such as bays and marine lagoons. In these places, other octopuses do not usually live since the substrate is normally smooth and there are no possible hiding places, which makes them easy prey for other predators. However, the coconut octopus does inhabit these places and that is due to its ingenuity and intelligence. The coconut octopus has behaviors that other invertebrates do not possess and that is why it is considered the most intelligent of this group to which 95% belong. of the animals. He is able to use tools, transport a shelter to be able to use them if he needs it, and also walk underwater in a surprisingly similar way as humans do.

 

The name of coconut octopus may be due to two of its abilities. The first is bipedal locomotion. When he walks on two of its tentacles, scientists believe he is trying to imitate a floating coconut shell. This fact is not strange when you consider that there is a type of octopus known as "mime octopus" that is capable of imitating more than 15 different marine animals from its environment. The second is because it uses coconuts as a refuge and even transport them to cover distances in which there is nowhere to hide.

"And this is all about these amazing animals, thanks for reading"

In collaboration with: Liceth Rangel y Luna Colmenares