Just when you thought octopuses couldn’t get any more fascinating, they do!

A paper published on January 28th, 2016 in the journal Current Biology found that there is more to octopuses changing colors than camouflage or anti-predator behavior. Using close to 53 hours of recorded video and 186 interactions in a heavily octopus-populated area in the waters of Australia, the scientists found that some displays of colors are signals that actually mediate combative interactions with one another. 

(Octopus in foreground turn pales when retreating from confrontation with another octopus, seen standing tall and menacing in the background. Photo by David Scheel)

This is the first study to document the use of signals during aggressive interactions among octopuses.

David Scheel recalls for NPR the first time he observed this behavior: “I took a look fairly early on at one sequence in which one octopus approaches another in a fairly menacing way. He gets all dark, stands up very tall, and the other octopus crouches down and turns very pale. And then, when the approaching octopus persists, the other one flees. And this is immediately followed by the first octopus approaching a third octopus that’s nearby. And the third octopus turns dark and doesn’t crouch down. He just stays where he is, holds his ground.”

Excerpts from the paper:

Interactions in which dark body color by an approaching octopus was matched by similar color in the reacting octopus were more likely to escalate to grappling. 

Darkness in an approaching octopus met by paler color in the reacting octopus accompanied retreat of the paler octopus. Octopuses also displayed on high ground and stood with spread web and elevated mantle, often producing these behaviors in combinations.

(Source: Scheel et al. 2016)

“[An aggressive] octopus will turn very dark, stand in a way that accentuates its size and it will often seek to stand on a higher spot,”explainedProfessor Godfrey-Smith to the BBC.

The scientists in this research actually dubbed the pose “Nosferatu”because the spread of the octopus’s web was reminiscent of a vampire’s cape, and they looked like Dracula was approaching his prey.

In the end, the color displays ultimately are correlated with the outcome of the interaction. 

(Source: Scheel et al. 2016)

Scientists don’t exactly know why octopuses engaged in such heated and feisty exchanges. “It could be an attempt by one or more animals to control territory, as we saw males excluding males but not females, but this isn’t always the case,” Professor Godfrey-Smith said. 

It had been previously thought that octopuses were mostly solitary creatures, and changes to body color and shape were viewed as tactics to avoid predators or to hide. This study however not only shows a very interesting range of behavior, but also may indicate complex social signaling. 

Octopuses actually have a pretty exciting  and dramatic social life after all.

The video above shows a dark-colored octopus, standing in the Nosferatu pose before attacking another dark-colored octopus, which eventually turns white and retreats. 

You can find and download the full article onCurrent Biology.

Latina Step-Sisters Bound And Gagged By Evil Cousin

Latina Step-Sisters Bound And Gagged By Evil Cousin

Oriana Gonzalez is a wild, aggressive, and extremely dominant woman and she will let no one get in her way to achieve her goals, not even her silly cousins Maria and Katherine Martinez.
As the scene opens we see Katherine and Maria both blindfolded, tape gagged, and tied up on chairs. They moan in fear of what is going to happen to them next and for good reasons. Their real-life cousin Oriana…

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hyungjk:

Pyongyang, October 26 (KCNA) – The statement of the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK which clarified the principled stand of the DPRK to replace the Korean Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty is evoking a lively response in the world.

Reuters, AFP and a radio broadcasting service of France, Vietnamese newspapers Nhan Dan and Quan Doi Nhan Dan and other media of many countries are reporting the statement every day under the titles “North Korea rejects dialogue proposed by U.S. and south Korea on condition of nuclear dismantlement, asserts conclusion of a peace treaty” and “DPRK Foreign Ministry in a statement urges the U.S. to come out for conclusion of a peace treaty”.

This is a vivid expression of the active support and solidarity by the world peace-loving people with the fair and aboveboard proposal of the DPRK to remove the danger of a war and create a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula by concluding a peace treaty between the DPRK and the U.S. at an early date.

The DPRK has consistently called for replacing the AA with a peace treaty, considering the present AA would not help hold off armed conflict and the outbreak of a new war.

The DPRK recently re-clarified the above-said stand on the basis of a serious lesson it had drawn from the situation which prevailed on the peninsula in last August.

A minor accidental case pushed the situation to the brink of a war. This finally proved that the present AA would never check conflict and war and that what is a prerequisite to ensuring environment for lasting peace on the peninsula is to conclude a peace treaty between the DPRK and the U.S.

The conclusion of the peace treaty presents itself as a top priority task for settling the Korean issue also because long-standing efforts for dialogue for the denuclearization of the peninsula ended without success.

Taking into consideration the stand of the parties concerned for discussing the denuclearization issue before anything else in the past, the DPRK took part in the negotiations for handling the denuclearization at the six-party talks first and also discussed the nuclear issue and the issue of ensuring peace at the same time. But all efforts proved futile and even though partial
agreements were reached, they were not put into practice.

The U.S. is persistently pursuing its hostile policy toward the DPRK, escalating the tension on the peninsula through ever more undisguised military provocations.

Even at this time when the DPRK clarified its stand for concluding a peace treaty, the U.S. staged large-scale combined naval exercises with the south Korean navy by bringing nuclear carrier Ronald Reagan, cruisers and Aegis destroyers to the waters off Pusan.

Despite its persistent nuclear blackmail and nuclear war exercises against the DPRK, the U.S. urges the DPRK to come out to a negotiating table after scrapping its nuclear program, claiming the denuclearization is a priority. This is a brigandish logic and sophism that can be let loose by aggressors only.

The U.S. is now standing against the conclusion of a peace treaty and increasing the tension on the peninsula, prompted by its hegemonic ambition for the region.

The U.S. undisguised hostile policy toward the DPRK, ceaseless large-scale joint military exercises and the introduction of nuclear strike means into south Korea are causing an evil cycle of confrontation and escalation of tension on the peninsula. This is sparking off arms race and ratcheting up tension in the Asia-Pacific region.

Andrei Ivanov, expert of Moscow State International Relations’ University of Russia, when interviewed by media said: All rackets targeting Pyongyang are pursuant to the U.S. aim to boost military muscle in the Asia-Pacific and build a missile shield with the nuclear threat from North Korea as a pretext. What matters is not Pyongyang but Washington’s ambition targeting Beijing and Moscow.

This is by no means accidental.

All this proves that the denuclearization of the peninsula touted by the U.S. is nothing but an empty talk just as it was before and that the conclusion of a peace treaty between the DPRK and the U.S. is the wisest solution to the issue.

Unless a priority is given to the conclusion of a peace treaty with the U.S., chief criminal responsible for the escalation of tension on the peninsula, it would be impossible to ensure genuine and lasting peace on the peninsula nor would it be possible to solve any other issues of interest of the countries concerned including the U.S.

The U.S. should no longer resort to the racket of “nuclear dismantlement of the north” and nuclear confrontation but seriously respond to the crucial proposal for replacing the AA with a peace treaty at an early date. -0-

lily-sinful:

jenara-asura-of-war:

lily-sinful:

vervainsorrowmist:

betterbemeta:

I wish people would stop mocking the shitty trump cup thing as a “protest” and being like “lol republicans dont know how to protest” over it because that’s not what it is. And mocking or minimizing it reduces its gravity or severity, gets us to stop taking it seriously. We can’t afford to treat even disorganized reactionaries like cartoon bumbling clowns. Their intentions are harmful.

It’snota protest. It’s (whether they’d like to consider it as such or not) an incompetent try at psychological terrorism. But the intent is there, regardless of execution. It’s an attempt to force a service employee to yell out Donald’s name and remind everyone present who won, assert dominance over people in the area who resist or rightly maintain criticism of Donald. It’s like teabagging. And the approach in this case is founded in hatred of and entitlement over service employees. It is a creepy claiming of a neutral space as ‘for’ their demagogue and as his followers for them. Even though it’s pretty clear Donald doesn’t give a shit about them in the least.

It’s not a protest. it’s straight-up aggression. It just doesn’t involve physical violence or something that could be considered criminal. It’s not inept bungling resistance against forces that aren’t there. It’s hamfisted but effective bullying of people who are there.

This is what I’ve been trying to find the words for.

what is the trump cup?

People are ‘protesting/boycotting’ Starbucks for their anti-Trump stance by going to Starbucks and giving their name as Trump when they order and verbally abusing baristas who don’t write Trump on the cup.

what the hell.

That explanation though…

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Why You Should Never Punish a Cat

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Wacky Wednesday! If My Cat Were Bigger, Would He Kill Me?

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theconcealedweapon: