Octopuses Like to Punch Fish, New Research Suggests

Octopuses are strange animals. They've been found to have all sorts of strange, intelligent behaviours. Some recently published research shows yet another strange behaviour.

Octopus seem to enjoy punching fish.

Several separate events were recorded of octopus performing "a swift, explosive motion with one arm directed at a specific fish partner".

Octopuses in that area hunt alongside some some species of fishes. Several of the punching events happened during hunting sessions, while two of them happened while no hunting was occuring.

The theory is that fish punching is how the octopusses keep the fish in line and generally, that they're kind of just dicks.


gizmodo.com...

Strangely satisfying new research documents octopuses punching fish during collaborative feeding sessions. The octopuses primarily do it for practical reasons, but sometimes these underwater jabs seem to be purely spiteful.

Octopuses like to punch fish. As the authors speculate in their paper, published in Ecology, these punches are thrown to “prevent exploitation and ensure collaboration.” In some cases, however, the octopus-on-fish violence couldn’t be connected to anything in particular. In other words, the octopuses were being total dicks. That, or there’s something about this punching behavior that’s still not understood.

The octopuses performed “a swift, explosive motion with one arm directed at a specific fish partner, which we refer to as punching,” the authors write. Victims included tailspot squirrelfish, black tip, yellow-saddle, and Red Sea goatfishes.

The punches could be thrown by the octopus to maintain control over fish behavior, to banish certain fish from the group, to deter them from prey, or for purely selfish reasons—that is, to gain immediate access to a meal...punching may be a form of aggression with delayed benefits...where the octopus pays a small cost to impose a heavier one on the misbehaving partner, in an effort to promote collaborative behavior in the following interactions.

These multiple observations involving different octopuses in different locations suggest that punching serves a concrete purpose in interspecies interactions,” according to the paper.

One of the best threads ever.

I've always considered Octupuses to be the one fish with a massive chip on their shoulder. They even look like angry fish.

I can imagine 8 hit combos come naturally to them too! Make a great Tekken Character.

They are trying to stun them. Free lunch.

Yeah, if I was stuck at the bottom of the ocean with no books, tv or radio, I’d be punching Nemo too out of sheer boredom.

a reply to: dug88

Ha...this is awesome. I need a t-shirt made.

What a odd behavior. Definitely will have to follow this thread.

a reply to: dug88

Maybe the octopuses are trying to condition the fish, getting them used to them extending their arm out so that after the fish starts to feel a little comfortable it will make it a lot easier for the octopuses to catch their prey.

Is that a new euphemism?

Like punching the clown?

but sometimes these underwater jabs seem to be purely spiteful.

Spiteful cephalopods?
Malicious mollusks?
Catty cuttlefish?

Octopuses Like to Punch Fish

Well who doesn't!!

The theory is that fish punching is how the octopusses keep the fish in line and generally, that they're kind of just dicks.

Too funny

Pretty sure a fish wrote this article.

a reply to: dug88

Sucker punch?

Sorry.

Uppercut
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Uppercut


Finish him!!!!

Double post

I wonder if this happens when the Octopuses get drunk...?

a reply to: dug88

is it any wonder, bloody annoying fish, thinking of you big pussy

originally posted by: Tulpa
a reply to: dug88

Sucker punch?

Sorry.

We have a winner folks!

a reply to: dug88

Pics or it didn’t happen.

a reply to: underpass61

I know, I know.....terrible humour.

But I have no remoras.

Yall have me kraken up

drunk octopus wants to fight!