Though octopuses were previously believed to be a solitary creature, new research indicates the animal regularly practices communication.
According to Live Science, a team of scientists observed octopuses interacting with one another with both their tentacles and color-changing abilities. Octopuses are known to use their camouflage and ink spraying abilities to intimidate potential predators, but were also largely believed to keep to themselves.
The researchers detailed their findings in the journal Current Biology.
"We found that octopuses are using body patterns and postures to signal to each other during disputes," study lead author David Scheel, of Alaska Pacific University, said in a press release. "The postures and patterns can be quite flashy, such as standing very tall, raising the body mantle high above the eyes, and turning very dark."
Scheel indicated previous research has suggested octopuses are not just antisocial, but are violent toward one another and will eat one another.
"Some octopuses have been seen in displays that may have occurred to woo potential mates, and some have [been] found in aggregations. So, there have been hints in the literature that suggest this may have been possible, but no focused reports that looked just at signaling among octopuses," he told Live Science. "One of the early bits of video that I saw showed one octopus approaching another in a fairly dramatic way - dark and standing very tall, and the other one crouched down, turned pale and then fled.
"It just looked to me like they were signaling, so we just followed from there to try and explore that idea."
