Australia’s gloomy octopuses need their personal space and they have a unique way of making sure they get it <\/p>
Some animals are made for high-density, communal living, but octopuses aren\u2019t among them. Australia\u2019s gloomy octopuses are \u2013 like most of its kind \u2013 solitary animals by inclination.<\/strong><\/p> And yet in Jervis Bay, drawn by a plentiful supply of scallops, they pack themselves together almost tentacle<\/a>-to-tentacle. And research shows that they have come up with a novel way of enforcing their personal space.<\/p> \u201cThe sand at Jervis Bay is too fine and silty to support a stable den,\u201d says Peter Godfrey-Smith who led the research from the University of Sydney<\/a>. \u201cBut the empty scallop shells<\/a> provide a much better building material. The more octopuses that move in, the more shells there are for building dens.\u201d<\/p> But den construction is not all they do with the shells. They also use them as ammunition against neighbours.<\/p>