An Octopus on Two Legs

Everyone knows that an octopus has eight legs, right? Did you know that some can walk on two legs?

Normally, an octopus uses all eight legs to propel itself through the water. However, some speices can pull up six of their legs and walk backwards on the other two. This allows them to maintain their camoflouge as the try to escape from predators.

This article is very interesting because not many things are known about the octopus. This was the first known account of what scientists term "bipedal locomotion" of any underwater creature. Scientists hope that this finding will help them learn more about how the octopus moves about the ocean.

If you want to learn more about this incredible octopus and see some amazing pictures, click here.

Ready ... Set ... Go!

We are ready to start posting our summaries of online biology articles! Here are the basics. Find a current (within a year) online article dealing with a topic in biology. Write a 2-3 paragraph summary telling the basic information in the article. Be sure to tell your impressions and why you feel this topic is important. Include a hyperlink to your story. I'll show you how to make hyperlinks in class. Here are some possible sources of stories, but feel free to find your own. Make sure the articles you choose are from respected sources. If you're not sure, check with me.

Some sources:

• Natonal Biological Information Infrastructure - Links to loads of sites with biology news.
• Topix.net - This site pulls current biology news from all over the Internet.
• National Science Foundation - Links to current topics in biology
• About.com - Lots of great links to articles
• Scientific American - For those of you up to the challenge, articles from this publication are geared towards college level and above. Are you up to the challenge?