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Mirror, mirror, on the wall...Who's the kinkiest of them all?

November 25, 2008

ohfortheloveofscience's picture

Jealousy. Obsessive stalking. Cross-dressing. Strangulation. Once-in-a-lifetime sex. Just a few words to describe the secret sex lives of octopi. Once thought to be the ocean's loner, a study at University of California at Berkley has found that they are actually the ocean's fetishist.

A species of diurnal octopus, Octopus Abdopus aculeatus, found in the waters of northern Sulawesi in Indonesia, has been found to have quite the wild sex life. Males were quite picky in choosing a specific sex partner, whereupon they follow her home and jealously guard her den for days. Any rival that comes too close becomes a victim of strangulation.

Smaller males, unable to get to the female on their own, fool the larger male by cross-dressing. Known as "sneaker" males and found in various species, they camouflage themselves to look like females by hiding their stripes, and then sneak over to the female and mate with her.

Not only is the sex kinky, but its once-in-a-lifetime. It's not the sex that leads to death, but the octopi can only produce offspring once in their year-long lifespan. And sex with 16 legs involved definitely takes a lot of energy.

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Comments

gay man

December 1, 2008 by Anonymous, 51 weeks 3 hours ago
Comment id: 33135

aaahA¬!!!! your moms the smurefiest of them all

More undersea kinks/sex

November 26, 2008 by Fred Bortz, 51 weeks 4 days ago
Comment id: 33087

For more undersea kinkiness, see my review of Sensuous Seas: Tales of a Marine Biologist by Eugene H. Kaplan.

The book includes octopi, but the review does not.

Here's an excerpt of the review:

Many young people enter [Kaplan's] classes hoping to swim with the dolphins, but--judging by this enticing collection of true stories and personal experiences that he uses to motivate his lectures--most of them leave with questions compelling enough to last a lifetime.

The book displays how he guides students through that transition. The prologue reflects on a typical first day of class in a lecture hall filled with "hormone-laden young men and women."

"What can I say that will interest them...as I drone interminably about worms and clams?" he worries. His answer comes from a learned colleague's "secret of good biology teaching....Infuse into each lecture a generous helping of sex, so that seething hormone-infused thoughts will be directed toward what I am saying, not Miss Nubile."

The 31 main chapters follow, each featuring a particular type of marine life and each with the same structure: a dramatic opening, followed by biological content spiced with the author's personal experiences. Drawn into a biology lesson by Prof. Kaplan's comfortable prose, readers pay rapt attention while awaiting the juicy parts.

Enjoy!

Fred Bortz -- Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com) and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)

gah!

November 26, 2008 by ohfortheloveofs..., 51 weeks 4 days ago
Comment id: 33083

thanks for pointing that out. i hate typos!

To Be or Not Too Be?

November 26, 2008 by Anonymous, 51 weeks 4 days ago
Comment id: 33082

Couldn't find an email address to alert you to the typo, so, though I resist being that girl, have to say:
"Any rival that comes to close becomes a victim of strangulation."
That should be "comes too close".

I love science and I really love octopi. Truly fascinating creatures.



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