{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"From the archive: The cuttlefish and its coat of many colors","description":"Hi friends! We're skipping a beat to take care of some spring housekeeping tasks. We will be back in May! In the meanwhile, enjoy this listener favorite from our archives! ----- [originally aired April 30, 2025] We humans have a hard time becoming invisible. For better or worse, we're basically stuck with the skin and body we have; we\u2019re pretty fixed in our color, our shape, our overall appearance. And so we're fascinated by creatures that aren't\u2014creatures that morph to meet the moment, that can functionally disappear, that can shape-shift on a dime. And no creatures are more skilled, more astonishing, more bedazzling in their abilities to do this kind of thing than the cephalopods. But how do they do this exactly? What's going on in their skin? What's going on under their skin? And what's going on in their brains that makes this all possible? My guest today is Dr. Tessa Montague. Tessa is a neuroscientist in the Axel Lab at Columbia University; she studies the brain and behavior of the dwarf cuttlefish, with a special focus on the biology of their dynamic skin behaviors. Here, Tessa and I talk about how cuttlefish and other cephalopods exhibit the most impressive camouflaging abilities on the planet. We discuss how they change their skin's appearance with remarkable speed and fidelity\u2014and not just when trying to blend in, but also when hunting, courting, fighting, and more. We talk about whether these behaviors are flexible and whether they're voluntary. We linger on the cruel irony that cuttlefish seem to be colorblind. We talk about the idea that a cephalopod's skin is kind of a window into their brain. We lay out the cells and organs in the cephalopod skin the make these behaviors possible\u2014especially the tiny pigment-bearing structures called "chromatophores." And of course we also dive deep into the cephalopod brain and its sometimes bizarre and poorly understood structures. Excited to share it with you friends\u2014I think you'll enjoy it. Without further ado, here's my chat with Dr. Tessa Montague.   A transcript of this episode is available here.   Notes and links 3:00 \u2013 For more on Dr. Montague\u2019s recent expeditions to the Philippines, including photos, see here. 7:30 \u2013 Dr. Montague has published two recent reviews of dynamic skin behaviors in cephalopods\u2014see here and here. We previously discussed cephalopod intelligence in a 2021 episode with Dr. Alex Schnell and a 2023 episode with the novelist Ray Nayler. 18:30 \u2013 For discussion of a recent \u201crenaissance\u201d in new model organisms, see here. 20:30 \u2013 For more on how chameleons change color, see this video. 25:00 \u2013 A video primer on cuttlefish camouflage, featuring the researcher Dr. Robert Hanlon. 30:30 \u2013 A recent paper on the details of pattern matching in cuttlefish camouflage. 31:00 \u2013 For more on the mimicking plant Boquila trifoliolata, see this popular article. See also our earlier episode with Dr. Paco Calvo and Dr. Natalie Lawrence. 35:00 \u2013 A video about the so-called mimic octopus.  40:00 \u2013 For the hypothesis about color discrimination via chromatic aberration and pupil shape, see here. 44:00 \u2013 For more on the \u201csplit body\u201d skin behaviors observed in some cuttlefish, see here. 51:00 \u2013 For the David Attenborough clip about a cuttlefish hypnotizing a crab, see here. For the recent New York Times article on cuttlefish hunting behavior, including videos, see here. For the academic article that inspired the New York Times piece, see here. 58:00 \u2013 A recent scientific study on the possibility of octopus skin activity during dreaming. A video that helped popularize the idea of cephalopod skin activity as evidence of dreaming. Our earlier episode on why we\u2014and other creatures\u2014dream. 1:06:00 \u2013 For a study on chromatophore development from the lab of Dr. Gilles Laurent, see here. 1:11:00 \u2013 For more on papillae, including videos, see here.  1:17:00 \u2013 To explore an animated model of the cuttlefish brain, see this page of Dr. Montague\u2019s website, Cuttlebase.   Recommendations Monarchs of the Sea, Danna Staaf Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith Cephalopod Behavior, Roger Hanlon & John B. Messenger   Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to Indiana University. The show is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Our transcripts are created by Sarah Dopierala. Subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here! We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com.    For updates about the show, visit our website or follow us on Twitter (@ManyMindsPod) or Bluesky (@manymindspod.bsky.social). ","author_name":"Many Minds","author_url":"https:\/\/disi.org\/manyminds\/","html":"