Watch as an octopus appears to use one of its tentacles to hit fish swimming nearby. (Courtesy: Courtesy: Eduardo Sampaio, esampaio@ab.mpg.de)
Video from a recent study shows multiple examples of octopuses using their tentacles to punch fish, but it’s not part of a sanctioned aquatic boxing match.
Instead, researchers said the animals do this to displace the fish and keep them in line.
“Punching involves an explosive motion of one arm directed at a specific hunting partner, which actively displaces it to outer areas of the group temporarily or permanently,” scientists said.
Octopus punches fish.
(Eduardo Sampaio, esampaio@ab.mpg.de)
Interestingly, the octopuses and the fish they punch are all part of the same hunting party. They rove around the sea floor to catch prey together, with the octopus serving as the dominant center of the group.
The scientists noted that the fish never act aggressively toward the octopus, leaving it to be the most dominant individual of the group.