Overview

• Researchers cataloged nearly 4,000 arm actions from 25 videos of three species filmed between 2007 and 2015 in Spain and the Caribbean.
• The front four arms were used about 60–64% of the time for exploratory actions, while the rear arms more often handled locomotion such as rolling and stilting.
• All eight limbs could perform the full set of 12 actions using four deformations—bending, shortening, elongating, twisting—with frequent multitasking across arms.
• No consistent left-right preference was detected in the wild, with octopuses often coordinating matched pairs rather than showing handedness.
• Arm regions showed distinct roles, with bends concentrated at tips and elongations nearer the body, insights the authors say could aid neuroscience and soft-robotic design.