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And no copycat is stranger or more accomplished than the mimic octopus. True to its name, it impersonates a variety of other animals on the fly, morphing from an octopus to a banded sole to a lionfish to a sea snake. But this is no random assemblage of impressions: All of these creatures are toxic or venomous.

The elusive octopus genome has finally been untangled, which should allow scientists to discover answers to long-mysterious questions about the animal's alienlike physiology: How does it camouflage itself so expertly? How does it control-and regenerate-those eight flexible arms and thousands of suckers? And, most vexing: How did a relative of the snail get to be so incredibly smart-able to learn quickly, solve puzzles and even use tools?

TED collection of video regarding oceanic research