Doğru / Yanlış Test 4

Passage

The octopus is widely regarded as one of the most intelligent invertebrates on the planet. Despite having a lifespan of only one to five years depending on the species, octopuses exhibit a remarkable range of cognitive abilities that have fascinated scientists for decades. They can solve complex puzzles, navigate mazes, and even open childproof containers -- tasks that require both memory and problem-solving skills. One of the most extraordinary features of octopus intelligence is their capacity for observational learning. In laboratory experiments, octopuses that watched another octopus perform a task were subsequently able to replicate the behaviour without any direct training. This ability, once thought to be exclusive to vertebrates, suggests a level of social cognition that challenges traditional assumptions about invertebrate intelligence. The octopus nervous system is fundamentally different from that of vertebrates. Approximately two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are located in its arms rather than in its central brain. Each arm can independently taste, touch, and make decisions about movement without input from the central brain. This distributed neural architecture means that an octopus's arms can continue to respond to stimuli even after being severed from the body, sometimes for up to an hour. Octopuses are also masters of camouflage. They possess specialised skin cells called chromatophores, which allow them to change colour and texture in a fraction of a second. This ability serves multiple purposes: avoiding predators, communicating with other octopuses, and ambushing prey. Remarkably, octopuses are colour-blind, yet they can still match the colours of their surroundings with extraordinary precision. Scientists hypothesise that their skin may contain light-sensitive proteins that enable a form of 'seeing' without eyes. Despite their intelligence, octopuses are solitary creatures that typically avoid social interaction except during mating. The female octopus makes an extraordinary sacrifice: she stops eating entirely while guarding her eggs, which can take several months. She dies shortly after the eggs hatch, having devoted her remaining energy to ensuring the survival of her offspring. This reproductive strategy, known as semelparity, means that each generation must rediscover the world anew, without the benefit of parental teaching.