New Octopus Species' Mating Ritual Shattering Social Norms

The mating ritual of a recently discovered species of octopus is shattering the social norms of these marine creatures and shedding light on their unusual behavior patterns, according to new research.

Panamanian biologist Aradio Rodaniche first reported the Pacific striped octopus in 1991 off the coast of Nicaragua. Rodaniche noted its strange behavior - living in groups of up to 40 individuals, laying multiple egg clutches, and practicing rare reproductive rituals like mating face-to-face.

This mysterious creature, however, was not seen again for another 20 years until 2012 when Richard Ross, a biologist at the California Academy of Sciences, came across one and began studying it.

Ross was fascinated by the social behavior of these cephalopods.

"Regular octopus mating, where the male is behind and on top of the [female] - or far away - that's scary enough to watch... [but] watching these guys come and interact with their beaks - wrapped up in a ball of limbs - are they fighting or mating?" he said, according to National Geographic.

What's more, instead of laying all their eggs in one basket, so to speak, the females continuously lay litters of eggs, said biologist and octopus expert James Wood.

"Why not live to fight another day and reproduce again?" Wood told National Geographic.

However, he notes that this characteristic may make these eight-armed creatures vulnerable to changing environmental conditions.

Ross notes that much more studying is to be done to even begin to understand these fascinating marine animals. They must be observed from birth to death to fully understand their way of life - a feat easier said than done. Ross has not yet successfully raised hatchlings into adults and his captive octopus population is dwindling.

For octopus researchers, "there seems to be an eternal quest for 'the social octopus,'" said Jennifer Mather, a biologist and octopus expert at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada.

And this species reminds us, Ross told The Dodo, that "There may be no outer limits."