Skip to main content
Log in

Cephalopod neurobiology: an introduction for biologists working in other model systems

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Invertebrate Neuroscience

Abstract

This paper concisely summarizes major aspects of cephalopod biology, behavior, and ecology providing a backdrop against which neurobiology of these animals can be interpreted. Reproduction, camouflage, motor control, memory, learning, and behavioral ecology are introduced, and thorough literature reviews of these subjects are cited for further reading. The aim of this paper is to provide a general introduction to cephalopods for use by workers currently focused on other model systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aitken JP, O’Dor RK, Jackson GD (2005) The secret life of the giant Australian cuttlefish Sepia apama (Cephalopoda): behaviour and energetics in nature revealed through radio acoustic positioning and telemetry (RAPT). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 320:77–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen JJ, Mäthger LM, Barbosa A, Buresch KC, Sogin E, Schwartc J et al (2010) Cuttlefish dynamic camouflage: responses to substrate choice and integration of multiple visual cues. Proc Royal Soc B 277:1031–1039

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alves C, Boal JG, Dickel L (2008) Short-distance navigation in cephalopods: a review and synthesis. Cogn Process. doi:10.1007/s10339-007-0192-9

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson RC, Wood JB, Byrne RA (2002) Octopus senescence: the beginning of the end. J Appl Anim Welf Sci 5:275–283

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer B (1998) Sperm competition in Molluscs. In: Birkhead TR, Moller AP (eds) Sperm competition and sexual selection. Academic Press Ltd, San Diego, pp 255–305

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bazzino B, Gilly WF, Markaida U, Salinas-Zavala CA, Ramos-Castillejos J (2010) Horizontal movements, vertical-habitat utilization and diet of the jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California Sur, Mexico. Prog Oceanogr 86:59–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellanger C, Dauphin F, Chichery MP, Chichery R (2003) Changes in cholinergic enzyme activities in the cuttlefish brain during memory formation. Physiol Behav 79:749–756

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Biederman GB, Davey VA (1993) Social learning in invertebrates. Science 259:1627–1628

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boal JG (2006) Social recognition: a top down view of cephalopod behaviour. Vie et Milieu 56:69–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Boal JG, Gonzalez SA (1998) The social behavior of individual oval squids (Cephalopoda, Teuthoidea, Loliginidae, Sepioteuthis lessoniana) within a captive school. Ethology 104:161–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boal JG, Wittenberg KM, Hanlon RT (2000) Observational learning does not explain improvement in predation tactics by cuttlefish (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Behav Process 52:141–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boletsky SV (2003) A lower limit to adult size in coleoid cephalopods. Berliner Palaobiologie Abhandlung 3:19–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Boletzky SV (1994) Embryonic development of cephalopods at low temperatures. Antarct Sci 6:139–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady B (2008) Long-term changes in biological characteristics and fishery of Loligo opalescens. Masters thesis, San Jose State University, USA

  • Budelmann BU (1995) The cephalopod nervous system: what evolution has made of the molluscan design. In: Breidbach O, Kutsuch W (eds) The nervous system of invertebrates: an evolutionary and comparative approach. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, pp 115–138

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock TH, Budelmann BU (1991) Sensory evoked potentials in unanesthetized unrestrained cuttlefish: a new preparation for brain physiology in cephalopods. J Comp Physiol Ser A 168:141–150

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buresch KM, Hanlon RT, Maxwell MR, Ring S (2001) Microsatellite DNA markers indicate a high frequency of multiple paternity within individual field-collected egg capsules of the squid Loligo pealeii. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 210:161–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bush SL, Hoving HJT, Huffard CL, Robison BH, Zeidberg LD (2012) Brooding and sperm storage by the deep-sea squid Bathyteuthis berryi (Cephalopoda: Decapodiformes). J Mar Biol Assoc UK. doi:10.1017/S0025315411002165

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen DS, Van Dykhuizen G, Hodge J, Gilly WF (1996) Ontogeny of copepod predation in juvenile squid (Loligo opalescens). Biol Bull 190:69–81

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng MW, Caldwell RL (2000) Sex identification and mating in the blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena lunulata. Anim Behav 60:27–33

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cigliano JA (1993) Dominance and den use in Octopus bimaculoides. Anim Behav 46:677–684

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cigliano JA (1995) Assessment of the mating history of female pygmy octopuses and a possible sperm competition mechanism. Anim Behav 49:849–851

    Google Scholar 

  • Corner BD, Moore HT (1980) Field observations on the reproductive behavior of Sepia latimanus. Micronesica 16:235–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Crook RJ, Basil J (2008a) A biphasic memory curve in the chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius L. (Cephalopoda: Nautiloidea). J Exp Biol 211:1992–1998

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crook RJ, Basil J (2008b) A role for nautilus in studies of the evolution of brain and behaviour. Commun Integr Biol 1:61–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crook RJ, Walters ET (2011) Nociceptive behavior and physiology in molluscs: animal welfare implications. Inst Lab Anim Res J 52:185–195

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crook RJ, Hanlon RT, Basil JA (2009) Memory of visual and topographical features suggests spatial learning in the ancient cephalopod, nautilus (Nautilus pompilius L.). J Comp Psychol 3:264–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins SF, Boal JG, Buresch KC, Kuanpradit C, Sobhon P, Holm JB, Degnan BM, Nagle GT, Hanlon RT (2011) Extreme aggression in male squid Induced by a β-MSP-like pheromone. Curr Biol 21:322–327

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Di Cosmo A, Di Cristo C (1998) Neuropeptidergic control of the optic gland of Octopus vulgaris: FMRF-amide and GnRH immunoreactivity. J Comp Neurol 398:1–12

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodson JJ (1998) The nature and role of learning in the orientation and migratory behavior of fishes. Environ Biol Fishes 23:161–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiorito G, Chichery R (1995) Lesions of the vertical lobe impair visual discrimination learning by observation in Octopus vulgaris. Neurosci Lett 192:117–120

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fiorito G, Scotto P (1992) Observational learning in Octopus vulgaris. Science 256:545–547

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forsythe JW (2004) Accounting for the effect of temperature on squid growth in nature: from hypothesis to practice. Mar Freshw Res 55:331–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank MG, Waldrop RH, Dumoulin M, Aton S, Boal JG (2012) A preliminary analysis of sleep-like states in the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038125

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant P, Zheng Y, Pant HC (2006) Squid (Loligo pealei) giant fiber system: a model for studying neurodegeneration and dementia? Biol Bull 210:318–333

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grasso FW, Basil JA (2009) The evolution of flexible behavioral repertoires in cephalopods molluscs. Brain Behav Evol 74:231–245

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gutfreund Y, Flash T, Fiorito G, Hochner B (1998) Patterns of arm muscle activation involved in octopus reaching movements. J Neurosci 18:5976–5987

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall KC, Hanlon RT (2002) Principal features of the mating system of a large spawning aggregation of the giant Australian cuttlefish Sepia apama (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Mar Biol 140:533–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT (1988) Behavioral and body patterning characters useful in taxonomy and field identification of Cephalopods. Malacologia 29:247–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT (2007) Cephalopod dynamic camouflage. Curr Biol 17:400–404

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT, Forsythe J (2008) Sexual cannibalism by Octopus cyanea on a Pacific coral reef. Mar Freshw Behav Physiol 41:19–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT, Hixon RF (1980) Body patterning and field observations of Octopus burryi. Bull Mar Sci 30:749–755

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT, Messenger JB (1996) Cephalopod behaviour. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT, Forsythe JW, Joneschild DE (1999) Crypsis, conspicuousness, mimicry and polyphenism as antipredator defenses of foraging octopuses on Indo-Pacific coral reefs, with a method of quantifying crypsis from video tapes. Biol J Linn Soc 66:1–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT, Smale MJ, Sauer WHH (2002) The mating system of the squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii (Cephalopoda, Mollusca) off South Africa: fighting, guarding, sneaking, mating and egg laying behavior. Bull Mar Sci 71:331–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon RT, Chiao C–C, Mäthger LM, Buresch KC, Barbosa A, Allen JJ et al (2011) Rapid adaptive camouflage in cephalopods. In: Stevens M, Merilaita S (eds) Animal camouflage: mechanisms and functions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 145–163

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Heithaus MR, Frid A, Wirsing AJ, Worm B (2008) Predicting ecological consequences of marine top predator declines. Trends Ecol Evol 23:202–210

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hochner B (2008) Octopuses. Curr Biol 18:R897–R898

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hochner B (2012) An embodied view of octopus neurobiology. Curr Biol 22:R887–R892

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hochner B, Shomrat T, Fiorito G (2006) The octopus: a model for a comparative analysis of the evolution and memory mechanisms. Biol Bull 210:308–317

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Houck BA (1982) Temporal spacing in the activity patterns of 3 Hawaiian USA shallow water octopods. Nautilus 96:152–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoving HJT, Roeleveld MAC, Lipinski MR, Videler JJ (2006) Nidamental glands in males of the oceanic squid Ancistrocheirus lesueurii (Cephalopoda: Ancistrocheiridae)—sex change or intersexuality? J Zool 269:341–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoving HJT, Bush SL, Robison BH (2011) A shot in the dark: same-sex sexual behaviour in a deep-sea squid. Biol Lett. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0680

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huffard CL (2006) Locomotion by Abdopus aculeatus: walking the line between primary and secondary defenses. J Exp Biol 209:3697–3707

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huffard CL (2007) Ethogram of Abdopus aculeatus (d’Orbigny, 1834) (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae): can behavioral characters inform octopodid taxonomy and systematics? J Molluscan Stud 73:185–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huffard CL, Godfrey-Smith P (2010) Field observations of mating in Octopus tetricus Gould 1852 and Amphioctopus marginatus (Taki, 1964). Molluscan Res 30:81–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Huffard CL, Boneka F, Full RJ (2005) Underwater bipedal locomotion by octopuses in disguise. Science 307:1927

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huffard CL, Caldwell RL, Boneka F (2008) Mating behavior of Abdopus aculeatus (d’Orbigny 1834) (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the wild. Mar Biol 154:353–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huffard CL, Caldwell RL, Boneka F (2010) Male-male and male-female aggression may influence mating associations in wild octopuses (Abdopus aculeatus). J Comp Psychol 124:38–46

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hvorecny LM, Grudowski JL, Blakeslee CJ, Simmons TL, Roy PR, Brooks JA et al (2007) Octopuses (Octopus bimaculoides) and cuttlefishes (Sepia pharaonis, S. officinalis) can conditionally discriminate. Anim Cogn 10:449–459

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hylleberg J, Nateewathana A (1991) Morphology, internal anatomy, and biometrics of the cephalopod Idiosepius biserialis Voss, 1962. A new record for the Andaman Sea. Phuket Mar Biol Cent Res Bull 56:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibáñez CM, Keyl F (2010) Cannibalism in cephalopods. Rev Fish Biol Fish 20:123–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Itami K, Izawa Y, Maeda S, Nakai K (1963) Notes on the laboratory culture of octopus larvae. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish 29:514–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Itawa Y, Munehara H, Sakurai Y (2005) Dependence of paternity rates on alternative reproductive behaviors in the squid Loligo bleekeri. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 298:219–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jozet-Alves C, Mode’ran J, Dickel L (2008) Sex differences in spatial cognition in an invertebrate: the cuttlefish. Proc Royal Soc B 275:2049–2054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanda A, Takahasi T, Satake H, Minakata H (2006) Molecular and functional characterization of a novel gonadotropin releasing-hormone receptor isolated from the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris). Biochem J 395:125–135

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kier WM, Smith KK (1985) Tongues, tentacles and trunks-the biomechanics of movement in muscular-hydrostats. Zool J Linn Soc 83:307–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kier WM, Stella MP (2007) The arrangement and function of octopus arm musculature and connective tissue. J Morphol 268:831–843

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leite TS, Haimovici M, Mather J, Lins Oliveira JE (2009) Habitat, distribution, and abundance of the commercial octopus (Octopus insularis) in a tropical oceanic island, Brazil: information for management of an artisanal fishery inside a marine protected area. Fish Res 98:85–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutz RA, Voight JR (1994) Close encounter in the deep. Nature 371:563

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mangold K (1987) Reproduction. In: Boyle PR (ed) Cephalopod life cycles: volume II comparative reviews. Academic Press, London, pp 157–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall NJ, Messenger JB (1996) Colour-blind camouflage. Nature 382:408–409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mather JA (1991) Navigation by spatial memory and use of visual landmarks in octopuses. J Comp Physiol Ser A 168:491–497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mather JA, Anderson RC (2007) Ethics and invertebrates: a cephalopod perspective. Dis Aquat Org Special Issue 75:119–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mäthger LM, Barbosa A, Miner S, Hanlon RT (2006) Color blindness and contrast perception in cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) determined by a visual sensorimotor assay. Vis Res 46:1746–1753

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Messenger JB (2001) Cephalopod chromatophores: neurobiology and natural history. Biol Rev 76:473–528

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nabhitabhata J, Suwanamala J (2008) Reproductive behaviour and cross-mating of two closely related pygmy squids Idiosepius biserialis and Idiosepius thailandicus (Cephalopoda: Idiosepiidae). J Mar Biol Assoc UK 88:987–993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishioka RS, Yasumasu I, Packard A, Bern HA, Young JZ (1966) Nature of vesicles associated with nervous system of cephalopods. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 75:301–316

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norman MD (2000) Cephalopods: a world guide. ConchBooks, Hackenheim

    Google Scholar 

  • Norman MD, Hochberg FG, Boucher R (2005) A revision of the deep-water octopus genus Scaeurgus (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) with description of three new species from the Southwest Pacific Ocean. J Molluscan Stud 71:319–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Dor RK, Macalaster EG (1983) Bathypolypus arcticus. In: Boyle PR (ed) Cephalopod life cycles: volume I species accounts. Academic Press, London, pp 401–410

    Google Scholar 

  • Packard A (1961) Sucker display of Octopus. Nature 190:736–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Packard A (1972) Cephalopods and fish: the limits of convergence. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc (Lond) 47:241–307

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Packard A, Hochberg FG (1977) Skin patterning in Octopus and other genera. Symp Zool Soc Lond 38:191–231

    Google Scholar 

  • Packard A, Sanders GD (1971) Body patterns of Octopus vulgaris and maturation of the response to disturbance. Anim Behav 19:780–790

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickford GE (1964) Octopus dofleini (Wülker). Bull Bingham Oceanogr Collect Yale Univ 19:1–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Pronk R, Wilson DR, Harcourt R (2010) Video playback demonstrates episodic personality in the gloomy octopus. J Exp Biol 213:1035–1041

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richard A, Lemaire J (1975) Determination et differenciation sexualles chez la Seiche, Sepia officinalis L. (Mollusque: Cephalopode). C R Acad Sci Paris D 277:2185–2188

  • Robson GC (1929) A monograph of the recent Cephalopoda based on the collections in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I. Octopodinae. British Museum Natural History, London

  • Rocha F, Guerra A, Gonzalez AF (2001) A review of reproductive strategies in cephalopods. Biol Rev 76:291–304

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sauer WHH, Smale MJ, Lipinski MR (1992) The location of spawning grounds, spawning and schooling behaviour of the squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii (Cephalopoda: Myopsida) of the Eastern Cape Coast, South Africa. Mar Biol 114:97–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheel D, Bisson L (2012) Movement patterns of giant Pacific octopuses, Enteroctopus dofleini (Wülker, 1910). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 416–417:21–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seibel BA, Robison BH, Haddock SHD (2005) Post-spawning egg care by a squid. Nature 438:929

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Semmens JM, Pecl GT, Villanueva R, Jouffre D, Sobrino I, Wood JB et al (2004) Understanding octopus growth: patterns, variability and physiology. Mar Freshw Res 55:367–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semmens JM, Pecl GT, Gillanders BM, Waluda CM, Shea E, Jouffre D et al (2007) Approaches to resolving cephalopod movement and migration patterns. Rev Fish Biol Fish 17:401–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shigeno S, Kidokoro H, Tsuchiya K, Segawa S, Yamamoto M (2001) Development of the brain in the Oegopsid Squid, Todarodes pacificus: an atlas up to the hatching stage. Zoolog Sci 18:527–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shomrat T, Zarrella I, Fiorito G, Hochner B (2008) The octopus vertical lobe modulates short-term learning rate and uses LTP to acquire long-term memory. Curr Biol 18:337–342

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sinn DL, Moltschaniwskyj NA (2005) Personality traits in dumpling squid (Euprymna tasmanica): context-specific traits and their correlation with biological characteristics. J Comp Psychol 119:99

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sinn DL, Perrin NA, Mather JA, Anderson RC (2001) Early temperamental traits in an octopus (Octopus bimaculoides). J Comp Psychol 115:351–364

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Squires ZE, Wong BBM, Norman MD, Stuart-Fox D (2012) Multiple fitness benefits of polyandry in a cephalopod. PLoS ONE 7:e37074. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0037074

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Staaf DJ, Camarillo-Coop S, Haddock SHD, Nyack AC, Payne J, Salinas-Zavala CA et al (2008) Natural egg mass deposition by the Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the Gulf of California and characteristics of hatchlings and paralarvae. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 88:759–770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart JS, Field JC, Markaida U, William FG (2012) Behavioral ecology of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) in relation to oxygen minimum zones. Deep Sea Res Part II Top Stud Oceanogr. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2012.06.005

  • Sumbre G, Gutfreund Y, Fiorito G, Flash T, Hochner B (2001) Control of octopus arm extension by a peripheral motor program. Science 293:1845–1848

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tricarico E, Borrelli L, Gherardi F, Fiorito G (2011) I know my neighbour: individual recognition in Octopus vulgaris. PLoS ONE 6:e18710

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van Heukelem W (1973) Growth and life-span of Octopus cyanea (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). J Zool 169:299–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vecchione M (1991) Observations on the paralarval ecology of a euryhaline squid, Lolliguncula brevis (Cephalopoda, Loliginidae). Fish Bull 89:515–521

    Google Scholar 

  • Villanueva RA, Norman MD (2008) Biology of the planktonic stages of benthic octopuses. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 46:105–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voight JR (1991) Enlarged suckers as an indicator of male maturity in Octopus. Bull Mar Sci 49:98–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Voight JR (2005) Hydrothermal vent octopuses of Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis, feed on bathypelagic amphipods of Halice hesmonectes. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 85:985–988

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voight JR (2009) Differences in spermatophore availability among octopodid species (Cephalopoda: Octopoda). Malacologia 51:143–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voight JR, Drazen JC (2004) Hatchlings of the deep-sea octopus Graneledone boreopacifica are the largest and most advanced known. J Molluscan Stud 70:406–408

    Google Scholar 

  • Voight JR, Feldheim KA (2009) Microsatellite inheritance and multiple paternity in the deep-sea octopus Graneledone boreopacifica (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Invertebr Biol 128:26–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wada T, Takegaki T, Mori T, Natsukari Y (2005) Sperm displacement behavior of the cuttlefish Sepia esculenta (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae). J Ethol 23:85–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warner RR (1988) Traditionality of mating-site preference in a coral reef fish. Nature 335:719–721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells MJ, Wells J (1972) Sexual displays and mating of Octopus vulgaris and Octopus cyanea and attempts to alter performance by manipulating the glandular condition of the animals. Anim Behav 20:29–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson R, Chrachri A (2004) Cephalopod neural networks. Neurosignals 13:87

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Woodhams PL, Messenger JB (1974) A note on the ultrastructure of the octopus olfactory organ. Cell Tissue Res 152:253–258

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Young JZ (1963) The number and sizes of nerve cells in Octopus. Proc Zool Soc Lond 140:229–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Young JZ (1964) Paired centres for the control of attack by Octopus. Proc R Soc Lond B 159:565–588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young JZ (1971) The anatomy of the nervous system of Octopus vulgaris. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Zullo L, Hochner B (2011) A new perspective on the organization of an invertebrate brain. Commun Integr Biol 4:26–29

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zullo L, Sumber G, Agnisola S, Flash T, Hochner B (2009) Nonsomatotopic organization of the higher motor centers in Octopus. Curr Biol 19:1632–1636

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zylinski S, Osorio D (2011) What can camouflage tell us about non-human visual perception? A case study of multiple cue use in the cuttlefish. In: Stevens M, Merilaita S (eds) Animal camouflage: mechanisms and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 164–185

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zylinski S, How MJ, Osorio D, Hanlon RT, Marshall NJ (2011) To be seen or to hide: visual characteristics of body patterns for camouflage and communication in the Australian giant cuttlefish Sepia apama. Am Nat 177:681–690

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zylinski S, Darmaillacq A-S, Shashar N (2012) Visual interpolation for contour completion by the European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) and its use in dynamic camouflage. Proc Royal Soc B 1471–2954. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.0026

Download references

Acknowledgments

I thank Graziano Fiorito for the invitation to write this paper, and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christine L. Huffard.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Huffard, C.L. Cephalopod neurobiology: an introduction for biologists working in other model systems. Invert Neurosci 13, 11–18 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10158-013-0147-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10158-013-0147-z

Keywords

Navigation