Why do cephalopods have a well-developed nervous system and only live for a short life time?

Gnomon

I think your question is based on the assumption that to develop a good brain and intelligence, you need to live a long time. This is certainly the case in mammals. In mammals, it takes a long time for a big brain to grow, so a young mammal needs to be cared for by its parents for a long time. This means the parents have to live a long time. Cephalopods have developed totally independently of us chordates: our common ancestor was way back in the sea about 600 million years ago, before we'd even come up with the idea of oxygen-carrying blood! So their brains are completely different from ours and can develop very quickly. This means that baby octopuses and squids don't need to be cared for by their parents after they are born and there is no need for the parents to live a long time. Jul 20 06, 2:41 AM

niale

Ok thanks! Jul 20 06, 2:55 AM

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