Scientists find octopuses using coconut shells as tools

Sydney - Octopuses, sometimes called the slugs of the sea, are much brighter than we thought, Australian researchers said Tuesday. They filmed veined octopuses in Indonesia carrying and stacking coconut shells to be used later as armor to protect them from predators.

Julian Finn and his Museum of Victoria colleague Mark Norman were astonished when they came upon a first instance of an invertebrate using tools.

"The first time I saw it, I just about drowned," Finn told the Sun Herald newspaper. "This was the first recorded tool use by an invertebrate, and what it shows is that it's not a skill just limited to humans and apes."

Their discovery, which was written up in the journal Current Biology, overturns the commonly held view that using tools is the preserve of more complex creatures like chimpanzees.

"These animals were collecting shells for use later when it would put two halves together," Finn said. "That shows anticipation from a creature, and it's exciting stuff for us."

The pair witnessed and filmed octopuses recovering coconut shells from the sea floor with their tentacles and carrying them underneath their bodies.

The Melbourne researchers said they were confident that tools are employed throughout the animal kingdom.

"Ultimately, the collection and use of objects by animals is likely to form a continuum stretching from insects to primates with the definition of tools proving a perpetual opportunity for debate," Finn said.