会看颜色的皮肤

第四天早上，琪亚拉进行了一个颜色测试。她在水箱底部放了三个盘子。红色、蓝色、黄色。

The fourth morning, Chiara had a colour test. She put three plates on the tank floor. Red. Blue. Yellow.

在其中一个盘子下面，藏着一块虾肉。今天它藏在红色盘子下面。

Under one plate, a piece of shrimp was hidden. Today it was under the red plate.

“章鱼是色盲的，”琪亚拉说，“它们的眼睛无法分辨颜色。”

"Octopuses are colour-blind," Chiara said. "Their eyes cannot tell colours apart."

“但请看，”她说。

"But watch," she said.

章鱼帕斯塔伸展开来。两只触腕伸了出去。它们经过蓝色盘子。经过黄色盘子。停在红色盘子上方。一只触腕抬起了盘子。帕斯塔拿到了虾肉。

Pasta uncurled. Two arms went out. They passed over the blue plate. They passed over the yellow plate. They stopped over the red plate. One arm lifted it. Pasta took the shrimp.

“她并不对颜色视而不见，”琪亚拉说，“但不是她的眼睛在看。”

"She is not blind to colour," Chiara said. "But it is not her eyes that see it."

科学家们发现章鱼的皮肤可以感知光线。与人类眼睛中的细胞相同的细胞也存在于章鱼的皮肤中。皮肤可以看见颜色。

Scientists have learned that octopus skin can sense light. The same kind of cells that are in human eyes are in octopus skin. The skin can see colours.

这就是为什么色盲的动物可以模仿珊瑚和沙子的颜色。眼睛看不到颜色，但皮肤可以。

This is how a colour-blind animal can copy the colours of coral and sand. The eyes do not see the colours. The skin does.

波莉慢慢地沿着水箱的边缘走。她从未想过自己的眼睛。一个动物可以用皮肤看见东西的想法非常奇怪。

Polly walked slowly along the rim of the tank. She had never thought about her own eyes. The idea that an animal could see with its skin was very strange.