Octopuses evolved as Antarctica froze Colder Antarctic waters
drove the evolution of deep sea octopuses, suggests new
research. Australian researcher Dr Jan Strugnell of Queen's
University Belfast and the British Antarctic Survey says the
formation of ocean currents around the continent millions of
years ago provided the right conditions for ocean creatures to
evolve. She presented her research on octopus evolution last
week at the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research meeting
in Hobart. Previous research suggests a range of deep sea
creatures had their origins in Antarctica, says Strugnell.
"People have thought for lots of different taxa that maybe this
has happened, but no-one's really investigated it properly."
Strugnell decided to test the theory by studying the evolution
of Antarctic and deep sea octopuses. She constructed a family
tree by comparing the octopus DNA and morphological features,
including number of suckers. Using fossils to calibrate
evolutionary dates, Strugnell says Antarctic octopus