If an intelligent marine species like the octopus evolved to live on land, what is the likelihood it would develop technology?
Alex McDowell
London, UK
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It probably would. Octopuses can already use tools.
To develop technology, dexterity is needed to manipulate objects. For this, humans have hands that were originally for tree climbing. Octopuses have tentacles that could serve the same purpose as our hands.
The first octopus-like species that evolved to live on land would be sluggish, because octopus bodies aren’t really suited to being out of the water (though octopuses sometimes crawl onto land to move between rock pools at low tide).
This new species may overcome the problem by evolving a better body or higher intelligence, or a combination of the two. Human bodies aren’t naturally suited to many of the environments we inhabit, but our intelligence allowed us to get round these problems by inventing tools and technologies.
In science fiction, octopus-like creatures develop technology. For example, in The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, the invading Martians resemble octopuses and are technologically advanced.
Pat French
Telford, Shropshire, UK
Why would octopuses need to come ashore in order to develop technology?
A technology developed underwater would inevitably be very different from ours and would address different problems, but it could happen. That it hasn’t might be due to the short life of octopuses: three to five years in the case of giant Pacific octopuses, during which time they breed only once before dying.
Breeding probably takes priority over innovation, despite their impressive intelligence.
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