Female Female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them.

Question

Female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them, documented in Octopus tetricus

Answer 1

1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings. I found online that it is true that female octopuses throw rocks at males that are harassing them.
2. What primary sources did you find (e.g., transcripts, videos of politician speeches, tweets from public figures, scientific studies)? For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.  For my primary source, I found an article by PLOS One. It's a direct research article talking about how octopuses throw shells, and even algae, to hit other targeted octopuses.

 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276482

3. What secondary sources did you find (e.g., newspapers, magazines)? Only use secondary sources if sufficient primary sources are not available. For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links. For my secondary source, I used an article by New Scientist talking about an analysis of footage taken of octopuses off the coast of Australia throwing shells and silt. They also talked about how, "in most cases, it is the females that do the throwing, often at males that are harassing them." They hold whatever they are throwing under their bodies in their tentacles and angle their siphons to shoot water, propelling the things at them.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2287879-female-octopuses-throw-things-at-males-that-are-harassing-them/

4. What potential biases or interests might each of your sources have? A lot of these articles are written very dramatically to seem more interesting. We also aren't animals, so we interpret behavior in a way that might not even be true, but supports our main claim.
5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking? When I looked up the main claim, there were maybe 20 different articles that I could see backing up this claim, and videos showing how researchers have documented octopuses throwing things at others when being bothered by them. A lot of times it's during mating attempts, suggesting the female was not into it.
6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking? Researchers did not always know why they were throwing objects. Some could have been a cleaning behavior, not aggression. In these articles, researchers use very cautious language. They say things like, "may have been targeted," or "appeared targeted." This suggests uncertainty.

Answer 2

I found many sources with similar titles to this Bsky post from many popular science magazines (https://www.newscientist.com/article/2287879-female-octopuses-throw-things-at-males-that-are-harassing-them/). This is a true fact that octopuses throw things at each other as it was confirmed by a scientific journal published in 2022 by an accredited University of Ferrara Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology in Italy (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C38&q=In+the+line+of+fire%3A+Debris+throwing+by+wild+octopuses&btnG=). They even mentioned male and female behavior being one of the reasons they throw things at each other they throw things to build their nests as well. However, the video is AI over exaggeration of what octopus throws actually look like. I found from video sources listed in the scientific journal, that the throws look more like a strong push of air from the underside of the octopus followed by a cloud of dirt, instead of the full range of motion of a baseball throw. They also throw small shells and not rocks like the Bsky video showed. This leads to the conclusion that the unnatural behavior of the octopus is an AI over exaggeration of what an octopus throw actually looks like. The what is actually looks like video file:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276482.s002; diagram file:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276482.s001. There is not many biases a scientific peer-reviewed journal would have as they used other journals to confirm all their information; they were also peer reviewed by others not involved in the paper. The person/team that runs the Bsky account Digital Brain (@yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social) did not respond to questions about video.

Answer 3

The claim that female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them comes from a social media post, not directly from a scientific source. The post doesn’t link to the actual study or explain where the information came from, so it’s important to check if it’s accurate. Since it’s just being shared by a general account, there’s no way to know if the person posting it understands the research or is just repeating something they saw online.

When looking at more reliable sources, there actually is real research behind this behavior, but it’s a little more specific than the post makes it sound. Scientists studying Octopus tetricus observed that these octopuses sometimes throw materials like shells, silt, and debris using jets of water. In some cases, females were more likely to throw things during interactions with males, especially around mating situations. However, they’re not literally throwing rocks, it's more like pushing debris through the water, and it doesn’t only happen when they’re annoyed. The behavior can also happen during things like cleaning their dens or interacting with other octopuses. 

Overall, the claim is partly true but oversimplified. Female octopuses have been observed throwing debris that sometimes hits males, but the social media post exaggerates it by making it sound more intentional and dramatic than it really is.

Answer 4

Think of this as your investigation log. Answer each question to explain what you discovered and how you got there.

Similar to what others have mentioned, this came from a social media post that was a random account. They didn’t give any information on their sources or follow up on the fact in the description. That being said when I further researched this claim in came to be that while the fact is partially true the terminology used is a common act of anthropomorphism. 

The Smithsonian Magazine is one of many to cover this behavior properly. The females will  use a siphon of water to hit males who are harassing them. Typically they hit them with shells they gathered with their tentacles. While they do indeed partake in this behavior it shouldn’t be considered throwing. When we read the word throwing we more than likely picture a baseball like throw. However this simply isn’t the case with octopi. 

Overall I think this primarily shows how people who seek to gain traction in the media will form headlines that exaggerate the truth. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-octopuses-throw-things-male-harassers-180978548/

Answer 5

According to Smithsonian Magazine, female octopus tend to throw objects including rocks, shells, and silt at male octopuses that they find annoying. Biologist Peter Godfrey-Smith from the University of Sydney witnessed this behavior in a scientific study among a group of octopuses off of the Australian coast. Octopuses usually use this behavior of "throwing" to keep their dens clean and free of debris, but scientists recently noticed it was also target at the male octopi. Humans could observe this "throwing" behavior differently than the actual intention and meaning that the octopus had so this statement could be exaggerated. 
Female Octopuses Throw Things at Male Harassers

Answer 6

At first glance, I thought that this fact/claim was false/somewhat ridiculous. I clicked the link, and it brought me to a website that appeared to be a social media site, that looked similar to Twitter, called "Bluesky". It showed a video of an octopus(I assume female) throwing rocks at another octopus. After searching up the claim, however, I found that Smithsonian Magazine has an article titled "Female Octopuses Throw Things at Male Harassers". Upon more research, the author of the article essentially explains that there's a paper that has been posted on "bioRxiv" that has not yet been peer reviewed about female octopuses throwing rocks at males who bother them. In the magazine titled "Female Octopuses Throw Things at Male Harassers" posted by Smithsonian Magazine, the article talks about how researchers have recently seen female octopuses throwing rocks at male octopuses as a targeted attack. It was previously known to be a den building technique. With recent findings indicating that female octopuses may use rock throwing to attack males that bother them, the paper/study posted has not yet been peer reviewed, according to the author. While this claim might be true, there's not any primary sources that can support the claim. When I tried to research further, I couldn't find any concrete studies that supported this fact. Most of the websites/sources I found were articles posted on blogs or videos on Facebook and Reddit. I think that bias could arise from the articles I found, as there's no concrete evidence to support their findings. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-octopuses-throw-things-male-harassers-180978548/

Comments

Your conclusion of the paper featured Smithsonian magazine being not peer reviewed and an unreliable source is outdated. On the paper on the biorxiv website, there is a link right below the title that says "Now published in PLOS ONE doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276482". When you see the paper on the up-to-date PLOS ONE website, the paper is tagged a "peer reviewed" tag at the very top (above the title). This proves that the claim is correct but exaggerated.

Answer 7

1. Overall Summary

It is true but frequently exaggerated that female octopuses throw materials at males. Research confirms they use their siphons to launch silt, algae, and shells at other octopuses—most often females targeting persistent males—though this "throwing" is a hydraulic blast rather than a limb-driven toss.

2. Primary Sources

The definitive primary source is the 2022 study published in the journal PLOS ONE titled In the line of fire: Debris throwing by wild octopuses. This peer-reviewed paper uses field recordings from Jervis Bay, Australia, to document 102 instances of debris-throwing, noting that females performed about 66% of these actions.

3. Secondary Sources

Major science outlets like New Scientist and Smithsonian Magazine have covered this behavior extensively. These articles help translate the technical data into accessible narratives, though they often use more "human" descriptors like "annoyed" or "harassed."

4. Potential Biases or Interests

Science magazines like New Scientist may use sensationalized headlines (e.g., "throwing rocks") to drive clicks, which can oversimplify the complex biological mechanics. Conversely, while the PLOS ONE study aims for objectivity, researchers admit that interpreting animal "intent" is inherently limited by our own human perspective.

5. Supporting Evidence

The strongest evidence is video footage showing octopuses gathering material under their mantle and using a high-powered water jet from their siphon to propel it at a neighbor. In several recorded instances, the targeted octopus (usually a male attempting to mate) had to duck or "parry" the incoming debris.

6. Undermining Evidence

Critics and the researchers themselves note that "throwing" is also a common method for den maintenance and cleaning, meaning not every launch is an aggressive act. Additionally, the term "throwing" is technically inaccurate as it relies on jet propulsion rather than arm strength, and the "rocks" are often just soft silt or shells.

Answer 8

From what I found, this is a fact. In an article by Corryn Wetzel, a science journalist, in Smithsonian Magazine, scientists have observed octopuses launching shells and silt at “annoying” individuals. In this article it explains that female octopuses “throw” objects at males if they feel as they are being harassed. They particularly gather shells or silt.  

Biologist Peter Godfrey-Smith at the University of Sydney studied octopuses on the Australian coast. In the article written by Peter and his colleagues, “In the Line of Fire: Debris Throwing by Wild Octopuses”, it says that they can intentionally target other individuals with projectiles. Peter explained, “In one example captured in 2016, a female octopus threw silt at a male who was attempting to mate with her. She threw silt at him ten times, hitting him on five of those attempts.” This is real information and a studied case.  

In another news article by News Scientist, it explains how they launch these objects. They hold it in their tentacles and angle their siphons and shoot jets of water at what they are planning to throw; this propels them up to many body lengths. This technique was said to be used to discard remaining meals or excavating dens. But, in the studies it shows that they also use this to target annoying octopuses, specifically males. It was also said that when they are targeting others they are more accurate and hold the silt or shells in different tentacles then if they are clearing debris. 

This is said to be a pretty rare thing and that not many other animals do this. This is a form of attack and when it happens there is not usually a response from the victim. One of the few times they saw a male react he supposedly threw a shell in a random direction and changed his color.  

Articles used: 

Female Octopuses Throw Things at Male Harassers 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-octopuses-throw-things-male-harassers-180978548/ 

In the Line of Fire: Debris Throwing by Wild Octopuses | bioRxiv 

Answer 9

Off the bat, what I found right away after following the link to the post, was an AI video. Many people in the comments responded saying it was AI, quick to put a stop to the misleading video. Despite the video itself being AI, that doesn't necessarily mean that the overall claim is necessarily untrue. One of the people in the comments linked an article that I followed up on, and right away noticed it was from a reliable source. The source was Smithsonian Magazine, and when I googled its reliability, on a scale of 60 total points of reliability, it was given a 45.3 meaning that it is reliable and that they practice analysis/fact reporting.

This article came out in 2022 and at the time this was supposedly the first time that this sort of behavior was documented by scientists amongst tentacled sea creatures. One key difference between the headline posted in the initial claim seeking to be fact checked is that it was a rock being hurled, an object that is heavier. Naturally it is clear that it was AI, in that it was thrown like a baseball, something clearly not feasible, but what about a more realistic item that could be thrown, or at least tossed? In this article they provide a non AI video example, which is one octopus throwing a shell at another. Not only does it show this, but it explains the behavior for why they would do this, making it more believable, but also more factual and educational. Some things they throw at each other include algae, silt, and shells, much lighter than a baseball sized rock. This source also provided some statistics, "they noted 102 instances of throwing among roughly ten individuals. Two females made 66 percent of the throws, which tracks with past research that found female octopuses throw objects at males when they’re feeling harassed".

To provide further information to how this claim is misleading is the word "throw". The Smithsonian article elaborates on this as well: "'Throwing,' however, may not be the most accurate word to describe the octopuses’ behavior. With their arms, the creatures gathered silt underneath their bodies, then used an appendage known as a siphon to violently expel water and send the debris flying. This maneuver required them to move their siphon into an unusual position, which researchers say suggests they were doing it deliberately."

Lastly to go one step further, one of the Smithsonian's primary source was a journal called PLOS One. A google search told me that this journal is legitimate, reputable, peer-reviewed meaning that it is reliable. Given the peer reviewed nature, if this source was biased, that likely would have been pointed out in the peer review process, and had it reworked before being published. Additionally since the Smithsonian magazine's goal is to educate the population on science and so no, they have a vested interest in making the information they share true. The website that provided info on their reliability before also stated them as a middle bias.

Overall, female octopi do participate in this sort of behavior, but to say they "throw" is overall is a misleading and exaggerated claim.

Links: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/octopuses-caught-on-camera-throwing-debris-at-each-other-180981109/

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276482

https://adfontesmedia.com/smithsonian-magazine-bias-and-reliability/

Answer 10

When researching the claim that female octopus throw rocks at male intruders, I found that the video shown might be ai however, female octopus do often spray sand silt with their tentacles they don't actually throw them like a human does. I also found that male octopus often harass or bother female octopuses, so this claim that females throw rocks at males isn't far from the truth, it just isn't true. For primary sources, I reviewed the original post made by Digital Brian, and found many comments that fact checked the video proving that it was ai. I also followed some Facebook post made by marine biologist Peter Godfrey-Smith. In some of his Facebook posts he talks about how female octopus do tend to fight often male octopus, but the throwing of the rocks is not possible for the octopus to do. For my secondary sources, I simple just looked up the tittle of the original post, and found a news article from "Smithsonian Magazine". In the news letter I found that, whenever a female octopus feels like a annoying male has entered the scene, female octopus will gather projects like shells or silt using their tentacles before launching debris with a siphon of water. ( https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-octopuses-throw-things-male-harassers-180978548/ ) I don't personally see any potential biases, as every comment and other article found debunks this original post. The sources I have all can be fact checked to be true, while also all being credible resources. There is very little evidence that supports the claim I am fact checking but there is a lot of evidence that undermines my claim about the original post. Evidence from actual marine biologist, Peter Godfrey-Smith, and newsletters from Smithsonian. When I tried contacting the person who made the original post, Digital Dan, I couldn't find any email, personal account, of type of way to digitally message this person.