Octopuses Slip Through Gaps Smaller Than Their Bodies

WHO:

ScienceAlert - An international team of cephalopod experts from Italy and Austria and engineers from the National University of Singapore’s Advanced Robotics Centre conducted the research.

ScienceAlert - The team studied three sub-adult common octopuses (*Octopus vulgaris*).

The Washington Post - Roboticist Wenci Xin is affiliated with the National University of Singapore.

Phys.org - Wenci Xin of the National University of Singapore describes octopuses’ ability to change their body shape.

WHAT:

ScienceAlert - Researchers identified two movement sequences for passing through holes: a three-step sequence for relatively large openings and a four-step sequence for smaller ones.

ScienceAlert - The octopuses passed through holes slightly narrower than the distance between their eyes.

ScienceAlert - The study was published in the *Journal of Experimental Biology*.

The Washington Post - Octopuses can pack themselves into extremely small spaces and are described as contortionists and escape artists.

Phys.org - Octopuses move across the seabed on their eight arms, jet through water, manipulate tools, and squeeze through very tight spaces.

The Washington Post - Aquarium professionals and laboratory scientists face challenges containing octopuses because of their intelligence and dexterity.

Phys.org - Xin said, “Octopuses can change their body shape to squeeze through tiny holes, almost like water flowing through a gap, so their size doesn't always limit where they can go.”

WHERE:

The Washington Post - Xin hopes to apply octopus-inspired robotics to search-and-rescue operations in collapsed buildings and other settings.

Phys.org - Octopuses walk across the seabed and move through water.

WHY:

The Washington Post - Xin wants to design better search-and-rescue robots that can navigate tight, unpredictable spaces.

The Washington Post - Xin sees octopuses’ ability to squeeze through small spaces as a useful model for robot design.

HOW:

ScienceAlert - For larger openings, octopuses probed the hole, shifted their arms, and squeezed through. They generally sent one of their front two left arms first, followed by as many as five other arms; two arms on the far side then pushed against the partition as the mantle and remaining arms passed through.

ScienceAlert - For smaller openings, octopuses shifted their remaining arms through first and then passed their mantle separately.

ScienceAlert - Researchers used the width between the octopuses’ eyes as a proxy for the width of the stiff cartilage sheath around the central nervous system.

ScienceAlert - The team said an octopus-inspired robot design could accommodate more sensors and manipulators, improving adaptability during missions.

The Washington Post - Search-and-rescue robots are typically long and narrow; Xin envisions squishy, flexible, octopuslike robots rather than snakelike ones.

Phys.org - Octopuses squeeze through gaps by changing their body shape; their flexibility lets them pass through holes smaller than their bodies.

(UPDATED November 6, 2026 22:08 UTC)

Octopuses squeeze through openings narrower than their eyes, researchers found in experiments. They use different sequences for larger and smaller holes, shifting arms and mantle. The findings could inspire flexible search-and-rescue robots that navigate collapsed buildings.

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(UPDATED November 6, 2026 13:07 UTC)

Octopuses reshape their bodies to squeeze through gaps smaller than themselves, roboticist Wenci Xin says. Their flexibility and dexterity make them difficult for aquarium staff and scientists to contain. Xin hopes octopus-inspired, soft robots can search collapsed buildings and navigate unpredictable spaces.