Overview
- The peer-reviewed study in Science published Thursday reports that the male’s hectocotylus senses a female hormone to guide sperm to her oviduct.
- In tank tests with an opaque divider, males reached through small holes and mated by touch in total darkness.
- Progesterone from the female oviduct served as the cue, and the team traced detection to a receptor on the arm named CRT1.
- Even a severed mating arm responded to progesterone, reflecting the semi-autonomous control in octopus limbs.
- The authors suggest fast-evolving receptors may aid species recognition, a possibility that will require comparative studies beyond lab-raised California two-spot octopuses.