Scientists discovered that octopus skin has the same light-sensing proteins found in their eyes. In tests, blue light shining on patches of octopus skin made the color spots expand automatically. This means their skin can feel and react to light all on its own, helping them blend in even faster.

Sources

Eye-independent, light-activated chromatophore expansion (LACE) and expression of phototransduction genes in the skin of Octopus bimaculoides

Journal of Experimental Biology · 2015

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evidence

Tiny muscle-controlled color sacs called chromatophores expand and shrink to change the octopus's...

evidence

Special reflective cells beneath the color sacs create shiny, metallic colors like blue and green.

perspective

Philosophers wonder what it is like to be an octopus. If their skin reacts to light on its own, d...

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How Octopuses Change Color: The Ocean's Living Screen

Evidence, perspectives, rabbit holes, and more

Octopus skin can sense light directly without using the eyes or brain.

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