Beahvior ID

JLArana7

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
1
I live in Palau and found two day octopuses (octopus cyanea) engaged. I'm not sure if they were mating, fighting to mate, or just fighting. Was hoping to clarify the behavior through a couple of screenshots. I have about a minute of video, before I moved off. They did not seem to appreciate being filmed (lights most likely). This was filmed around 2PM, on a new moon, on a shipwreck, at about 20 meters. The striped one appeared to be chasing the other which changed from a white mottled pattern to a brown mottled pattern. They ended up together in a den before I had to depart.
Thanks!
 

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There is no clue in the stills and difficult to tell with this species. Here is a thread with video and comments by another member where our guess was fighting (possibly over den ownership). What you may want to look for in your video (you can post it here or on another public video hosting site and link it with a URL) is an attempt of male animal to extend the third arm to the right (clockwise as you orient your eyes with the animal) toward the female's mantle cavity but this may not be visible during the chase. One distinct difference in your photo and the linked video is the white coloration of one of the animals.
 
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