5 Wild Octopus Behaviors from Punching to Puzzle Solving
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Octopuses. They’re the little aquatic aliens that haunt our dreams, and, on rare occasion, our toilets. But the squishy octopods are more than just aquatic-type nightmare fuel. They’re also a source of soothing meditation and even inspiration for roboticists. It all goes to show how complex the mysterious creatures really are.
To better illustrate that complexity, here are five strange behaviors octopuses exhibit. Behaviors that separate them from nearly every other animal on Earth. Although perhaps not many species on their home world.
Fish Punching
Yes, you read that right: fish punching. It turns out octopuses will occasionally hunt alongside fish, as the collaboration can be beneficial. But if the co-killers happen to take too much prey, or not put in enough work, octopuses will wallop them to keep ’em in line. It’s an example of a “partner control mechanism,” and it’s brutal.
What have eight legs, hunt among a group of fish and can throw a mean sucker punch? According to research published in Ecology last week, the answer would
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What have eight legs, hunt among a group of fish and can throw a mean sucker punch?
According to research published in Ecology last week, the answer would be octopuses (yes, octopuses, not octopi we asked).
Octopuses punch fish. Deliberately. Sometimes there s a reason, but other times, there s no discernible excuse. Researchers caught this behavior on video.
The first time researcher Eduardo Sampaio witnessed this phenomenon, he laughed. Normally that d be fine but at the time he was underwater wearing scuba equipment.
Active displacement, when coming from an octopus, can seem a little pushy as it comes in the form of what we d call a punch. But it could just be a method of working together, and with no other way to communicate, the octopuses punch the fish. Octopuses and fish are known to hunt together, taking advantage of the other s morphology and hunting strategy, explained marine biologist Eduardo Sampaio from the University of Lisbon in Portugal.
Octopuses punch fish. YES. OCTOPUSES. PUNCH. fish!!
Our new paper is out on @ESAEcology, showing that octos express this behavior during collaborative hunting with other fish. This was probably the most fun I had writing a paper. Ever! (small )https://t.co/Vwg9BoaSUopic.twitter.com/PIYuVXpM9t Eduardo Sampaio (@OctoEduardo) December 18, 2020