Octopuses torture and eat themselves after mating, and scientists finally know why

Nature is made up of some amazing and intriguing creatures. Perhaps one of the most intriguing is the octopus. Some even believe they could be aliens. One mystery that has long eluded scientists is the octopus’s self-destruction after mating. For years, scientists have wondered why octopuses torture themselves after mating.

Now, after all this time, researchers may finally have the answer.

Chemical Release

Chemical changes in the octopus after mating can cause them to torture and kill themselves. Image Source: Andrea Izzotti/Adobe

We have long known that mother octopuses torture themselves and sometimes even eat themselves when their eggs are about to hatch. While they aren’t the only creatures in the wild to die after mating, they do have one of the more gruesome approaches to the process.

For years, scientists have been trying to discover why octopuses behave this way after mating. Now, a new study published in the journal current biology could provide the answers we’ve all been looking for. Researchers say mother octopuses torture themselves after mating because of chemical changes that occur around the time the mother lays her eggs.

A 1977 study found that a series of glands near the octopus’ eyes were responsible for the mechanism that caused the self-destruct. The researchers found that these glands produce steroid hormones in the octopus. And when the mother has laid her eggs, these glands go into overdrive. It is these steroids that are believed to prompt octopuses to torture themselves.

Why do octopuses torture themselves after mating?

Image source: diveivanov/Adobe

In all, the researchers found three separate chemical shifts that take place at the same time the octopus mother lays her eggs. First, there is an increase in pregnenolone and progesterone. These two hormones are usually associated with reproduction in a large number of creatures. So it’s not surprising to see them here.

They then saw a second shift as the octopus started producing higher levels of 7-dehydrocholesterol, or 7-DHC. This is a building block of cholesterol and humans also produce it while making cholesterol. However, it could be one of the chemical changes that cause octopuses to torture themselves after mating.

7-DHC can be a toxic compound. That’s why people don’t keep it in their system for long. The researchers also noted that the eye glands began to produce more of the components used in bile acids. Octopuses don’t use the same kind of bile acids as humans and other animals, but they do make the building blocks for those acids.

The researchers believe that these chemical changes all come together and cause octopuses to torture themselves. The exact reason why these changes occur, or why the octopus’s body is designed this way, is still unclear. Z. Yan Wang, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, said: Live Science that it could be a way to protect the younger octopuses.

Octopuses are naturally cannibalistic creatures. As such, the torture and subsequent death caused by these changes could be a way to naturally kill the older generation to protect the young before they can be killed and eaten by the older octopuses.

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