Female octopuses are caught on video launching shells at males attempting to mate with them

Female octopuses have been caught on video launching shells at males attempting to mate with them. Scientists at the University of Sydney recorded gloomy octopuses, or Octopus tetricus, in Jervis Bay in Australia with underwater cameras. They watched them repeatedly throw marine debris using their siphon - a tube-shaped structure that can draw water in an out of its body. As they have to move their siphon to an unusual position to do this, it is assumed to be a deliberate manoeuvre. Throws were performed by both sexes, but it was female octopuses 66 per cent of the time, and sometimes occurred during mating attempts.