The way in which we remember the “who, where, what and when” of our past experiences is called “episodic memory”, and it used to be thought that this ability was unique to humans because of our capability for language.

But in 1998 it was proven that some birds had episodic memory to help them recall where they’d stored food and which hoards were freshest, and since then, the once-exclusive club has steadily grown to include great apes, rats, hummingbirds and even pigeons. It was clear then that the ability was increasingly commonly found in birds and mammals, but surprisingly, it’s since been found in an aquatic mastermind too.

The common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is separated from birds and mammals by over a million years of evolution, but even though it’s long been known to be as intelligent as its cephalopod cousin the octopus, it’s still managed to surprise scientists with its smarts.

Because they spend over 95 per cent of their time hiding their soft and nutritious bodies from predators, cuttlefish are forced to act fast when it’s time to feed themselves, and it seems their memories help them do this very efficiently. In an experiment where they were offered different morsels of food at different times and at different locations, the cuttlefish showed time and time again that they could remember what they ate as well as when and where they ate it, and thus avoided wasting time on fruitless foraging trips.

Not only does this underline the tremendous flexibility and cognitive capacity of these fascinating animals, but it also shows once again that we humans aren’t quite as special as we think we are...