‘Gentleman’ octopus taps prey on shoulder before attacking

The larger Pacific striped octopus taps its shrimp prey, startling it to run right into the predator’s arms. The Pacific striped octopuses, on the other hand, continue to mate even as they tend their eggs.

Ever wondered how the Pacific striped octopus hunts its food?

The authors observed behaviors previously unknown for octopuses, including beak-to-beak mating, co-occupancy of a den by a mating male and female pair, extended spawning, and unique pre-capture methods, supporting the observations made 30 years ago.

The species has no formal name, is known only as the larger Pacific striped octopus, and has yet to be officially described in the scientific literature.

“That behavior, to me, is really unusual and shows some behavioral plasticity that is well beyond what we’ve seen in other octopus”, Caldwell said. Other octopus species would win the gold medal of parental sacrifice: After laying their eggs, females starve to death in order to protect them until they hatch. The animal lives in water between 40 and 50 meters (150 feet) deep, typically on muddy, sandy plains at the mouths of rivers, probably living in cast-off shells or rock cavities.

Females may grow to three inches across (seven centimeters) and males make it to about 4.5cm. Other reports have suggested that the species lives in larger groups.

The researchers observed mating pairs engaging sucker-to-sucker and beak-to-beak, as if kissing.

“Each time a different type of octopus is studied, we need to redefine our theories about their behavior”.

“It reminds us how much we still have to learn about the mysterious world of cephalopods”. The eyes and chromatophores are visible through the egg membranes. They have a striking high-contrast display of colours and patterns, varying from a pale to dark reddish-brown hue to black with white stripes, and spots. “Nevertheless, while they tolerate one another and sometimes pair up, I don’t think they are highly social”.

Many of these characteristics were uncovered by a prominent biologist in the 1970s, but because his findings massively contradicted other studies about octopus behaviour, very little attention was paid to his study.