The southern sand octopus shoots jets of water into the sand to make its own quicksand, where it can vanish within seconds and build a sturdy, well-designed burrow.
Octopuses are renowned for developing clever ways to outsmart both predator and prey. The Octopus kaurna, native to the sea floor off the southeastern coast of Australia, is the first cephalopod architect known to build its own burrow, and it uses a fascinating technique — the eight-legged creature squirts high-speed jets of water into the sandy sea floor, generating a temporary suspension of sand in water. Jasper Montana of the University of Melbourne first discovered this octopus's behavior in 2008 and collected five specimens. After observing their behavior in an aquarium, he now believes that the liquefied sand helps reduce drag so the octopus can dig faster and deeper. As it sinks into the sand, the octopus trails two arms behind and lays down a layer of mucus to reinforce the walls of the burrow. This octopus lacks the ingenuity in camouflage possessed by other species, so it may have evolved its engineering genius to avoid predators.
