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One surprising fact about female octopuses is that they sometimes kill and eat male octopuses if they aren’t open for mating.
Male octopuses have developed ways to protect themselves. (Photo Credit: X)
Octopuses are among the ocean’s most fascinating and mysterious creatures, and their mating habits are no less surprising. One particularly startling behaviour observed in some female octopuses is sexual cannibalism: if a female isn’t receptive to mating, she may attack, kill, and even eat the male. While it sounds brutal, scientists believe this helps the female get the nutrients she needs to lay and guard her eggs.
To avoid becoming a “post-date snack”, male octopuses have evolved sneaky strategies, from mating at arm’s length to using stealth and speed to escape immediately after mating.
Speaking with NPR, Fabio Cortesi, a researcher from the University of Queensland in Australia, explained that “they’ve evolved different mechanisms to avoid getting killed. One of them is to have a long, they use a mating arm. They don’t actually have a penis. They use a mating arm to transform the sperm packets. And so, in some species, the arm, the mating arm, is very long, and they keep the female at bay.”
“As the female becomes bigger and bigger than the male, the threat of getting eaten obviously increases. But the males still need to mate. The species needs to survive. As far as we know, they don’t learn by watching other males. They learn essentially by making mistakes. So if they don’t bite at the correct spot, they usually bite close to the aorta. If they miss that spot, then the female usually wakes up much earlier, and they might lose an arm or two during the mating,” Cortesi added.
As per The Washington Post, Christine Huffard from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute shared that octopuses are often known for their aggressive mating behaviour. This idea has become common, but in truth, this behaviour was only observed a few times. Octopuses are not easy to study because they live alone and are hard to spot in the wild.
In some rare sightings, male octopuses have been seen approaching females directly, even positioning themselves near the female’s mouth. The female sometimes wraps the male completely in her arms, which appears hostile. However, in many of these cases, the male wasn’t harmed, and there was no actual attack. So, while the interactions may look intense, they don’t always end in violence.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
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