Photo copyright Tim Nicholson, whose underwater photographs and photo books are available from http://www.photoboxgallery.com/timnicholson.
Taken in the Egyptian Red Sea.
Octopus Mating
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The octopus is solitary. Mating can be risky for the male: he is smaller than the female and risks being attacked. The female watches his body postures and skin pattern. Once accepted the male stretches out a modified arm towards the female - shown in our photo. The arm has grooves along which sperm passes to the female's mantle cavity.
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Recommended Books:
Underwater Photographer
by Martin Edge, Paperback, 536 pages (2009)
The Brains and Lives of Cephalopods
by Marion Nixon, John Z. Young, Oxford University Press, Hardback, 480 pages (2003)
Recommended Video: BBC World Of Wildlife 7 - Squid And Octopus
David Attenborough and Mike deGruy
Recommended DVD: The Blue Plane6t
David Attenborough
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