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With their long tentacles and suction cups, three hearts and blue blood, octopuses are a lot of strange creatures - and they are also extremely clever: the masters of camouflage are not only able to change their color faster and adopt more diverse patterns than chameleons.
You can also open screw caps, use tools and master simple math.
In addition, based on experience, squid can guess what the future holds and adapt their behavior accordingly.
Fascinating creatures, then, but Eduardo Sampaio and his research colleagues from the University of Lisbon have now observed rather disturbing behavior in the otherwise cute octopuses:
Octopuses occasionally punch fish
Boom!
Apparently out of nowhere, the fish has caught one.
Source: Screenshot video is / Twitter Eduardo Sampaio
Yes, you've read that correctly.
The seemingly peaceful sea creatures can also do something different and lash out.
Just why
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Octopuses often hunt with fish.
The animals make use of each other's morphology and strategies.
In this way, the squid can track down the prey with their long arms even in the smallest crevices, while the fish search the seabed over a large area.
As a result, both of them not only save energy, but also achieve even greater success.
For their study, the Portuguese researchers filmed such cross-species hunting communities in the Red Sea and discovered the violent octopus.
Eduardo Sampaio posted a video of them on Twitter:
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Since [the hunting groups] consist of several partners, a complex network is created in which investments and benefits can get out of balance, so that control mechanisms become necessary.
Eduardo Sampaio, biologist from the Universidade de Lisboa
Similar to how we humans drive away competitors at the evening buffet in the hotel restaurant with our elbows, these control mechanisms among the marine life ensure a fair division of prey.
In octopuses, however, they are a bit more brutal and the fish get a good twelve, uh, on the gills, as the researchers have found:
To do this, the octopus makes a quick, explosive movement with one arm aimed at a specific hunting partner, which we call punch.
Quote from the study
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The scientists were able to observe several octopuses in different places how they disciplined fish of various species such as groupers and jeweled basses while hunting and kept them away from their prey.
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On two occasions, however, an octopus struck for no apparent reason.
Sampaio and his team provide two possible explanations for this: On the one hand, the cephalopod could have struck out of sheer malice.
On the other hand, it can also be a delayed punishment, for example to punish bad behavior during the hunt afterwards.
The researchers want to find out more in further studies.
Until then, the fish are advised to keep a little distance from the octopuses, because they can be quite powerful.