Octopus don't just have eight tentacles, they six ''arms'' and two ''legs'', researchers at the Italian aquarium of Gardaland announced on Tuesday.
Discussing the results of a study carried out jointly with experts from 20 other aquariums across Europe, they said octopuses continually favoured their front six tentacles for handling objects, while their rear two were used for propulsion.
The research, which entailed months of studying 2,000 captive octopuses, found that the rear pair of tentacles was used to handle objects in just 11% of cases.
This compared to 39% of cases involving the front pair, 31% involving the second pair and 19% the third pair.
Discussing the results, Gardaland biologist Daniele De Luca said his team had been surprised at how often the third pair of tentacles had been used as ''arms''.
''This was far higher than we expected, particularly given that other studies have concluded that the four rear tentacles were mainly used for propulsion,'' he said.
The study also found that some octopuses were ''left-handed'' or ''right-handed'', just like humans.
''At least seven of the octopuses we looked at preferred one side, probably because of a weakness in the eye on the other side,'' said De Luca.
''This is useful to know as if they get ill, it makes it easier to give them food and medicine on the side they prefer''.
