Video: https://youtu.be/kHOuP7Z6y40
A short copulation in a pair of southern blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena maculosa). The male inserts both right arm 2 and his hectocotylus (right arm 3) into the female's right mantle aperture at sec 21, and can be seen removing them at sec 26. This copulation was likely interrupted by the presence of the camera. Video by P. Morse.
The octopods (Octopodiformes: Octopoda) can be broadly divided into two suborders: the incirrate octopods (Octopoda: Incirrata), and the cirrate octopods (Octopoda: Cirrata). Egg fertilisation in the incirrate octopods is always internal . The male hectocotylus, which is usually the third right arm, terminates in a specialised organ called a ligula (Wells and Wells, 1972). The ligula is composed of erectile tissue in some species, and it is thought that this structure aids in spermatophore placement and/or removal of competing spermatophores . Males are hypothesised to use the ligula to reach inside the female's mantle aperture and presumably locate one of the two oviducts.
Morse P and Huffard CL (2019) Tactical Tentacles: New Insights on the Processes of Sexual Selection Among the Cephalopoda. Front. Physiol. 10:1035. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.01035
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).
Keywords: cryptic female choice, cuttlefish, mate choice, octopus, polyandry, sperm competition, squid, reproduction
#Scenseme Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 - Creative Commons
Comments