Cephalopod suckers reveal how evolutionary repurposing of ancient genes reshaped marine intelligence—with implications for neurodivergent cognition
Original framing: “Octopus and cuttlefish suckers may have evolved by repurposing ancient developmental genes” — Phys.org
Indigenous marine knowledge systems, such as those of Pacific Islander cultures, describe cephalopods as embodiments of adaptive intelligence, with oral traditions noting their ability to 'rewrite' their bodies (e.g., camouflage, tool use) in response to environmental threats. These accounts predate modern science’s focus on gene repurposing and instead emphasize *behavioral* plasticity as the primary driver of evolutionary change. For example, the Marshallese term *jeb* for octopus literally means 'shape-shifter,' reflecting a cultural understanding of cephalopods as agents of their own morphological innovation. The study’s genetic framework could be enriched by integrating these observations, which suggest that Indigenous ecological knowledge anticipates modern findings about distributed cognition in cephalopods.
The study’s focus on gene repurposing in cephalopod suckers is a microcosm of how Western science often isolates biological phenomena from their ecological, cultural, and historical contexts.
By centering *Hox* genes as the primary drivers of evolution, the narrative obscures the agency of cephalopods as active participants in their own transformation—an agency that Indigenous marine knowledge systems (e.g., Māori *whakapapa*, Marshallese *jeb*) have long recognized. The trickster lens further exposes the absurdity of framing evolution as a linear process, when in reality, it is a *playful repurposing* of genetic and environmental rules, much like the Coyote or Anansi myths. Historical patterns, such as the Cambrian explosion’s modular innovations, reveal that cephalopod evolution is not an exception but a thread in a much larger tapestry of Earth’s adaptive experiments. The solution pathways emerge from restoring these missing dimensions: Indigenous collaboration, biohybrid innovation, climate-resilient modeling, and trickster-inspired education—all of which demand a shift from extraction to partnership, from determinism to creativity, and from human-centric narratives to a more inclusive understanding of intelligence in the natural world.