Can an Octopus See Color? Exciting Results!

Only Black And White?

The science community has been going back and forth on whether or not octopuses are able to see color. Some say that the fact that their eyes contain a single type of light receptor indicates that they are color blind. Others claim that their oddly shaped pupils allow them to see color. We decided to do an experiment that would explore the ability of the octopus to recognize different colors.

We searched for objects that would have the same shade in black and white. We found two cups, one pink, and one yellow, which were identical when viewed in black and white. In theory, if Arnold was color blind, he would not be able to distinguish between the two cups.

Training Our Octopus

During the first stage of this experiment, we introduced the yellow cup and placed a snack under it. Arnold found the tasty treat and we repeated the process several times during a few hours period. Then it was time to introduce the pink cup. The pink cup looks exactly like the yellow cup in shape but does not have a snack hidden under it.

After a while, we presented both cups to Arnold. We were eager to see whether or not Arnold would be able to find the fish under the yellow cup. It was an easy task for Arnold, who devoured his snack happily.

But what if he was able to smell the fish rather than distinguish between the colors of the cups?

In order to negate this possibility, we ran the test again, this time with no snack under the cups. Every time we ran the test, Arnold ignored the pink cup and headed for the yellow one. We even ran a few rounds rotating the position of the cups, just to make sure that Arnold was not exhibiting preference due to proximity.

Yes, He Can!

At the end, Arnold clearly made his choice final. He became so fond of the yellow cup, he simply decided to adopt it! He hugged it and squeezed it and tried to bring it inside his beloved barrel.

Therefore, to answer the question can an octopus see color, in the case of Arnold and this experiment the answer is, yes, he can!

This, of course, does not constitute a scientific proof of whether or not octopuses are able to distinguish between different colors.  Our hope is that after many experiments and color tests, we might provide scientists with more material they will observe and then be able to reach more conclusive results.

We truly enjoyed training Arnold to show preference in a specific color and we hope our viewers will enjoy it as much as we did.

Make sure to share any ideas about other (color or not) tests that you might have as we love experimenting based on our viewers’ requests!