If this ranking is just in terms of intelligence, and if it only looks at the most intelligent individuals in each group, molluscs may well rank higher than dogs, since they include cephalopods. The language skills (ability to remember the meaning of words and understand commands) of an octopus are probably less than those of a Border Collie but their problem-solving ability is superb. They are handicapped by their very short lifespan, which limits how much an individual octopus or squid can learn and develop, but if they ever throw up a species which lives for sixty years instead of two, before long they’ll be climbing out of the sea and demanding to pay for a fish supper with their credit card.
If this ranking is just in terms of intelligence, and if it only looks at the most intelligent individuals in each group, molluscs may well rank higher than dogs, since they include cephalopods. The language skills (ability to remember the meaning of words and understand commands) of an octopus are probably less than those of a Border Collie but their problem-solving ability is superb. They are handicapped by their very short lifespan, which limits how much an individual octopus or squid can learn and develop, but if they ever throw up a species which lives for sixty years instead of two, before long they’ll be climbing out of the sea and demanding to pay for a fish supper with their credit card.