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Long Arm to deliver the package
This is a pair of Day Octopus - Octopus cyanea.
They were courting and mating, an interesting behaviour to watch. In the above picture, the Male is on the right and the female is hiding in her den on the left. Octopus are very good at camouflage and they can change their colour and apperance to blend in perfectly with their surroundings.
When mating, the Male uses his specialized sex arm to reach the female's mantle to deliver his sperm packet which she stores to fertilises her eggs. Part of the reason for this 'distant' copulation was Octopus has been known for sexual cannibalism, meaning the Female may eat the Male after he has done his job.
''Octopus cyanea'', also known as the big blue octopus, day octopus and Cyane's octopus, is an octopus in the family Octopodidae. It occurs in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Hawaii to the eastern coast of Africa.
''O. cyanea'' grows to 16 cm in mantle length with arms to at least 80 cm.
The type specimen was collected off Australia and is deposited at The Natural History Museum in London.
