What is so unusual in this photo?

Neogonodactylus

Haliphron Atlanticus
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Every once in a while, a rare shot comes along. I thought I would share this one that I took a while back. The species is obvious as is what the animals are doing.

Roy
 

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Trying to discern the tangle, it appears that the male is upside down with respect to the female where most other pictures show the male grasping the mantle from the dorsal side keeping the eyes in the same orientation as the female. However, I have only actually seen one mating. The female mercatoris was in her den and the male simply blocked it with his body and successfully mated from outside the den.
 
Is it something about the photo that is special (like actually seeing that little spemataphore thread in the channel?) or something about the octopuses?
 
Sorry,
I admired the photographic catch right away but am so used to you taking phenomenal photos I was looking for it to show something unusual about the octopuses :oops:

What is that thing that looks like an eye though (upside down to the female's eye). Is there a third octopus in the photo or is it just an octopus "rock" (rock disguising itself as an octopus :biggrin2:)?

I am going to come knocking for some advice on mating in about 4 months I think ...
 

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