Octopus punching fish footage reveals bizarre moment angry sea creature lashes out

Bizarre new footage shows the moment an octopus punches a fish for refusing to help it hunt.

Scientists have found that the tentacled sea creatures deliberately lead fish on inter-species hunting expeditions - and thump them if they refuse to follow orders. After forming a group, they maraud the sea floor to catch prey together, though no evidence has been found to suggest that the fish ever lash out at octopuses, suggesting it is the dominant member of the pack. In the new clip, one octopus is seen extending its tentacles and hitting a fish swimming nearby, causing it to quickly get out of the way.

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Different species of fish have also been found to play unique roles in the hunting process, with goatfish acting as 'scouts' who scour the seabed, while octopuses lead the charge once prey is discovered. Blacktip grouper fish appear to experience the most intimidation from the underwater invertebrates.

However, it appears the octopuses save their boxing skills for the right moment, and do not tend to land any punches while the group is in motion. The blows have the effect of moving fish to the fringes of the hunting group, making them less likely to catch any prey.

A team at Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour from Germany filmed 13 different hunting groups, consisting of octopus and different species of fish, in the Red Sea off the coast of Israel. Explaining the surprising behaviour, Dr Eduardo Sampaio told BBC Science Focus: "It turns out that the punching is directed to fish that try to exploit the octopus and the group, particularly the blacktip grouper species. Moreover, we found that punching is also associated with the group's movement. That is, if the group is too clustered around the octopus and doesn’t move through the habitat, the octopus punches fish in order to show this negative feedback."