“A male octopus (right) deposits a sperm packet into a female in this photo taken during a field study and released on Monday.”
The headline really says it all. According to National Geographic (April 3), a recent study has “found that wild octopuses engage in ‘jealous murders,’ gender bending, and once-in-a-lifetime sex—unlike their seemingly shy, unromantic captive brethren.”
The study was done by the University of California, Berkeley; scientists watched the “baseball-size Abdopus aculeatus octopus species” (found off Indonesia) several weeks and recently published their findings:
“The team witnessed picky, macho males carefully select mates. The octopuses would then guard their newly domesticated digs jealously—occasionally going so far as to use their 8- to 10-inch (20- to 25-centimeter) tentacles to strangle romantic rivals to death.
“‘This is not a unique species of octopus, which suggests others behave this way,’ said Berkeley biologist Roy Caldwell, who co-authored the new study.
“The researchers also observed smaller males put on feminine airs. Some would keep their brown stripes—a male trait—hidden, perhaps to lull females into a false sense of safety before setting the scene for ‘seduction.'”