If you want to see what the future of Cephalopod evolution will be like, we need look no further than Octlantis. This curious place is a very rare aggregation of the gloomy octopus, O. tetricus which like its otehr eight-legged friends are well documented as being mostly solitary in their lifestyle.
While most octopus only get together to mate or sometimes fight, a unusal ‘colony’ of gloomy octopus is home to around fifteen individuals in a space measuring roughly 12 by 60 feet. The reason for this peculiar cluster of the Octopus is not exactly clear, perhaps it’s a very special combination of suitable homes in a place with plenty of food, but we think this is actually the beginning of a civilization of octopus.
All kidding aside, Octlantis, located in Jervis Bay Australia, is the second octopus colony of its kind with the other one being known as Octopolis not too far away. It’s not all neighborly love in Octlantis though, as skirmishes are frequent and there appears to be plenty of tussles between its residents. These recent findings suggest that perhaps Octopus tetricus should be renamed the social octopus, as we hope this is just the seed a a future cephalopod civilization that will one day take our place. [MFBP]
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