An international team of biologists and geneticists reports that they have sequenced the first entire octopus genome. They published the genome of the California two-spot octopus this week in the journal Nature.
Octopuses are particularly fascinating creatures to study at a genetic level because they’re so different from other animals—even from other cephalopods, a group that also includes squid and cuttlefish. They have no skeleton, three hearts, incredible camouflage skills, and tentacles that can regenerate. Moreover, those eight arms are home to most of their nearly half-billion neurons. That’s five times as many neurons as a mouse has. An octopus is about as smart as a dog.
via Mental Floss
