Sexual cannibalism by Octopus cyanea on a Pacific coral reef |
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Authors: | Roger T Hanlon John W Forsythe |
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Institution: | 1. Marine Biological Laboratory , Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA rhanlon@mbl.edu;3. Marine Biomedical Institute, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, TX 77555-1163, USA |
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Abstract: | Sexual cannibalism is rare in the animal kingdom. Although cannibalism is not uncommon in cephalopods, here we report the first documented case of sexual cannibalism. A large female Octopus cyanea was observed continuously for 2.5 days in Palau, Micronesia, when she was out of her den. On the second day, a small male followed and mated her 13 times during 3.5 h while she continued to forage over 70 m distance. After the 12th mating, she aggressively chased a different small octopus that barely escaped by jetting, inking and swimming upwards. Shortly thereafter, the original small male mated her a 13th time, but subsequently she attacked and suffocated him and spent 2 days cannibalizing him in her den. This sort of intraspecific aggression helps to explain several reports of octopuses mating out in the open, a behaviour that may serve to allow the smaller mate to escape cannibalism. |
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Keywords: | Cephalopod sexual selection behaviour mating system reproduction mate choice |
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