There happens a lot under the sea that we do not have much knowledge. Did you know there are bullies in the sea? A video captured the moment, where octopuses are seen randomly punching at fish, possibly for no reason other than being spiteful. Whether this remarkable, or rather nasty-sounding behaviour might seem like it could be a direct conflict between different animal species that is not the whole story. Sometimes, an octopus is so displeased with its fish partner that it demonstrates its ire by suddenly punching the later in the head. And other times, they do it randomly, for no apparent reason. Scientists explain that the octopus does so ‘out of spite.’

Octopuses and fish team up to pursue prey, but they do not get along, always. This antisocial fish-punching phenomenon, which scientists term “active displacement” of fish which occurs in the midst of collaborative hunting efforts. This bullish behaviour has been caught on camera by researchers while observing interactions between the octopuses and fish species in the Red Sea. Eduardo Sampaio, a researcher at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, captured the moment which shows several octopuses lashing out at fish as they happily swim alongside. Bizarre Marine Creature With 20 Long Legs or More Caught by Fisherman in Krabi. 

The researchers did not completely understand the punching process; they did find that it serves an important aspect in studying how the species interact. “Octopuses and fishes are known to hunt together, taking advantage of the other's morphology and hunting strategy,” Sampaio explained the study. “Since multiple partners join, this creates a complex network where investment and pay-off can be unbalanced, giving rise to partner control mechanisms,” the researcher adds. The fish-punching does not always seem to occur for immediately practical reasons. The researchers also observed punching take place even when the sudden strike did not appear to prey-securing attempts. Is Octopus An Alien Creature? Know The Truth About The Most Weird Species on the Planet. 

Watch the Video:

Sampaio and his team observed the interactions between Octopus cyanea and a number of different fish species in the Red Sea that includes tailspot squirrelfish, blacktip and lyretail, among others. There is a lot more to learn about this occurrence and their complex relationships as to what motivates an octopus to throw the first punch.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2020 03:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).