The bizarre mating ritual of octopuses: watch a male being dragged across the ocean floor mid-sex by an impatient female
Waiting for the man to get his affairs in order during sex can often be a source of frustration.
But it seems women aren’t the only members of the animal kingdom who quickly lose interest in a clumsy male.
New footage reveals a hilarious mating encounter between male and female algae octopuses near the Indonesian island of Bunaken.
In the clip, the male is dragged along the ocean floor mid-sex by the ‘impatient’ female when he can’t find the entrance.
The unfortunate cephalopod clings desperately with one of its eight arms, known as the ‘hectocotylus’, which can eject sperm from the tip.
In the clip, the male (left) is dragged across the seabed by the ‘impatient’ female (right) via the male’s mating arm, known as a hectocotylus.
The astonishing clip comes from National Geographic’s upcoming documentary, ‘Secrets of the Octopus’.
“It was surprising and comical to witness mating along the way,” said series producer Adam Geiger Living Science.
‘The female drags the male – holding on for dear life – over the reef while she is busy with other things.
‘The algae octopus was the only species in the series that we saw mating in this way, but who knows, others might do this too.’
Initially, the male, perched on a rock at the bottom of the sea, attracts the female’s attention with an incredible show known as a ‘transient cloud display’.
Its tens of thousands of skin cells change in flashes of color to send the female a message.
“The passing cloud screen means different things to different cephalopods,” Geiger said.
‘In the algae octopus, the passing cloud display appears to be an expression of interest in mating – a general ‘I am available’ signal.’
The fascinating footage of the octopus encounter was captured for National Geographic on Bunaken Island in Indonesia
Many male octopuses have no external genitalia and instead use a modified arm, called a hectocotylus, to pass their sperm to the female – including the algae octopus (Abdopus aculeatus, file photo)
After attracting the female’s attention, the male extends his ‘papilla’ – a finger-like, fleshy protrusion over his eye – and makes himself as large as possible.
His ‘come on’ does the trick and the female makes herself available, so he extends his specialized mating arm, the hectocotylus.
“The modified tip will deliver a packet of sperm – if it can find the right spot,” says the video’s narrator.
The male aims for the female’s ‘mantle cavity’, where sperm is stored and her eggs are fertilized – but unfortunately he doesn’t seem to be able to find it.
It doesn’t take long before the female becomes “impatient and hungry” and swims away, even though his mating arm is still around her.
“He’s come this far, so if she wants to go hunting, he’ll hang in there,” the narrator adds.
According to Jon Ablett, curator of the Natural History Museum’s cephalopod collection, the hectocotylus’ appearance varies among octopus species.
“Some look like a syringe, others more like a spoon and one, belonging to the North Atlantic octopus, even looks like a small toast rack,” he said.
The algae octopus (Abdopus aculeatus) is so called because it appears to be covered in algae when resting on the seabed, which is actually perfect camouflage.
Sir David Attenborough described it as the only octopus specially adapted for walking on land, as it can walk from one tidal pool to another while hunting crabs.
“The octopus’s suction cups allow it to move as stealthily in the water as it does outside,” said the legendary British biologist.
The new National Geographic documentary, “Secrets of the Octopus,” will be streaming April 22 on Disney+ and Hulu.