Octopuses taste food with suckers on their tentacles

A Californian two-spot octopus hunting

Octopuses are weird and wonderful creatures, with the ability to camouflage by changing the colour and pattern of their skin, and squeeze through virtually any space.

These animals are also famously one of the most intelligent beings in the world, and now they can add the ability to taste food with their limbs to their impressive list of skills!

Molecular biologist Lena van Giesen led a team from Harvard University which found that the skin of the suckers on the tentacle of Californian two-spot octopus had 'chemosensory cells'. These cells detect tiny particles in the same way our noses and mouths can smell and taste.

The scientists also noticed these sucker cells could warn octopuses, as they swam away quickly after touching 'repulsive flavours'. They believe this isn't just because the octopuses are fussy eaters, but that the bad flavours could mean something was dangerous or toxic to eat.

When the team observed an octopus hunting they discovered it would ignore inanimate objects and search around with its tentacles, looking for food. Once they found their prey, the octopus wrapped it in their limbs, confirming that they were tasting their well-earned meal as they ate it!