SAT OwlQuestion bank / Central Ideas and Details
Octopuses can change the color and texture of their skin in a fraction of a second, a skill that helps them hide from predators. Biologists were long puzzled by this ability, because octopus eyes contain only one type of light-detecting cell and so cannot distinguish colors the way human eyes do. Research by marine biologist Hana Lindqvist offers a partial answer: proteins that detect light are also present in octopus skin. Lindqvist proposes that the skin itself may sense light and help guide color changes.
Based on the text, what puzzle does Lindqvist's research help address?
How octopuses match their surroundings even though their eyes cannot distinguish colors
Why octopuses change color more slowly than other animals do
Why predators are unable to see octopuses at night
How octopuses first developed the ability to change skin texture
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The text says biologists were puzzled because octopuses change color for camouflage even though their eyes cannot tell colors apart. Lindqvist's finding of light-detecting proteins in the skin offers "a partial answer" to that puzzle, which is choice A.
Choice D is tempting because the text mentions texture, but Lindqvist's research concerns how the skin senses light, not how the texture-changing ability evolved.
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