Cephalopods

In Our Time: Science

BBC

History

4.5 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2018

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The octopus, the squid, the nautilus and the cuttlefish are some of the most extraordinary creatures on this planet, intelligent and yet apparently unlike other life forms. They are cephalopods and are part of the mollusc family like snails and clams, and they have some characteristics in common with those. What sets them apart is the way members of their group can change colour, camouflage themselves, recognise people, solve problems, squirt ink, power themselves with jet propulsion and survive both on land, briefly, and in the deepest, coldest oceans. And, without bones or shells, they grow so rapidly they can outstrip their rivals when habitats change, making them the great survivors and adaptors of the animal world. With Louise Allcock Lecturer in Zoology at the National University of Ireland, Galway Paul Rodhouse Emeritus Fellow of the British Antarctic Survey and Jonathan Ablett Senior Curator of Molluscs at the Natural History Museum Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, it's Doleepa, and I'm at your service.
0:04.7	Join me as I serve up personal conversations with my sensational guests.
0:08.8	Do a leap interviews, Tim Cook.
0:11.2	Technology doesn't want to be good or bad.
0:15.0	It's in the hands of the creator.
0:16.7	It's not every day that I have the CEO of the world's biggest company in my living room.
0:20.7	If you're looking at your phone more than you're looking in someone's eyes, you're doing the wrong thing.
0:26.0	Julie, at your service.
0:28.0	Listen to all episodes on BBC sales.
0:31.0	This is the BBC.
0:33.0	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:36.0	There's a reading list to go with it on our website and you can get news about our programs
0:40.0	if you follow us on Twitter at BBC in our time. I hope you enjoy the programs.
0:45.2	Hello the octopus the squid the nautilus and the cuttlefish are some of the most
0:49.8	extraordinary creatures on this planet, intelligent and yet so unlike other life forms.
0:54.6	They are catalopods and a part of the Mollusk family like snails and clams, and they have some characteristics
0:59.8	in common with those.
1:01.3	What sets them apart is the way members of their group can
1:04.0	change color, camouflage themselves, recognize people's
1:07.3	solve problems, squirt ink, power themselves with jet propulsion and survive both
1:11.2	on land briefly and in the deepest coldest oceans.
1:14.7	And without bones or shells they grow so rapidly they can out strip their rivals
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -2616 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.