For evidence of evolution’s sheer barminess, look no further than the humble octopus. It’s boneless, beaked, and many-brained ; it has blue blood, three hearts , and eight arms; it can change color and shape at will, and comes equipped with an ink sac for defense (or, presumably, calligraphy). The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

It is, in total, so weird that people have genuinely suggested it could be extraterrestrial in origin. And yet, despite being so very different from most every other form of life, it possesses a striking intelligence – one that can seem oh so familiar at times.

“I remember reading one [anecdote] about a lab where all the fish were going missing from their tank,” recalled Jon Ablett, senior c

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