Singing Penis, Hearing Feet Among Nature’s Repurposed Body Parts
Some of us eat with our eyes and talk with our hands. Under the right circumstances, our hearts may even sing. We live in busy times. Even our body parts have to be multitaskers.
September 9, 2013Some animals go beyond metaphor, and have body parts that actually do double duty.
Last week, Weird & Wild reported about a frog from the Seychelles Islands that hears with its mouth. Here are five other animals with repurposed body parts that serve more than one function. (See “Pictures: Mouth-Birthing Frog to Be Resurrected?“)
Octopi are kind of Renaissance cephalopod, charming and multitalented. They can hide from their enemies and open jars, are great shots with a water pistol, can mimic their friends, and are able to take arms against a sea of troubles.
They can also taste with those arms.
The octopus is chemoctactic; it can taste what it touches. Its suction cups have
