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Melvyn Bragg

Louise Allcock

Paul Rodhouse

Jonathan Ablett

Simon Tillotson

In Our Time: Cephalopods

Cephalopods

01/02/2018

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Cephalopods

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the biology of squid, octopus, cuttlefish and nautilus.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the remarkable biology of octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus, from jet propulsion to changing colour, and what makes them so adaptable.

The octopus, the squid, the nautilus and the cuttlefish are some of the most extraordinary creatures on this planet, intelligent and yet apparently unlike other life forms. They are cephalopods and are part of the mollusc family like snails and clams, and they have some characteristics in common with those. What sets them apart is the way members of their group can change colour, camouflage themselves, recognise people, solve problems, squirt ink, power themselves with jet propulsion and survive both on land, briefly, and in the deepest, coldest oceans. And, without bones or shells, they grow so rapidly they can outstrip their rivals when habitats change, making them the great survivors and adaptors of the animal world.

With

Louise Allcock
Lecturer in Zoology at the National University of Ireland, Galway

Paul Rodhouse
Emeritus Fellow of the British Antarctic Survey

and

Jonathan Ablett
Senior Curator of Molluscs at the Natural History Museum

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

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