Male blue-lined octopuses inject a powerful neurotoxin into the hearts of females before mating to avoid being eaten, ...

Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom to paralyse them before mating and avoid being eaten after sex.

While unfortunate for the males, becoming a post-sex meal offers the females vital nutrients needed to sustain themselves and ...

Some male octopuses tend to get eaten by their sexual partners, but male blue-lined octopuses avoid this fate with help from ...

"Mating ended when the females regained control of their arms and pushed the males off," the researchers noted.

Scientists have found that male blue-lined octopuses inject venom and paralyse females during sex to avoid being killed and ...

Learn more about the mating of blue-lined octopuses - a treacherous ordeal involving sex, cannibalism, and sedation.

Some species of pufferfish, for example, produce one of nature’s most potent venoms, tetrodotoxin, as a defence mechanism. Several blue-ringed octopus species use tetrodotoxin as a powerful ...

The male octopus of this species precisely injects a dose of its deadly tetrodotoxin venom into the females to immobilise them during copulation, say researchers at the University of Queensland.

Now, researchers studying the octopuses have learned that not only do male blue-lined octopuses use their venom against enemies, but also against members of their own species — cannibalistic females.

These assessments will provide an accurate benchmark for frozen octopus trade, ensuring transparency and consistency in ...