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A male octopus will lose his penis during sex. But don't worry—he'll grow a new one before the next mating season.
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Today Planet 100 counts down the top 5 underwater sex acts.
WATCH VIDEO: Top 5 Underwater Sex Acts
With new exploration methods scientists have discovered a dizzying array of strange ocean-dwelling creatures. Perhaps even more bizarre than their appearance are their sex practices.
#5 Transgender Clownfish
In 5th place is the Percula Clown fish. The Disney cartoon Finding Nemo omitted one racy detail about the cute little orange fish—it can change gender at will.
Clownfish live in a group consisting of a breeding pair of male and female, as well as smaller non-breeding males. If the female dies the male will change sex and become the female! Then the largest of the non-breeding males will get a promotion to become the breeding male.
#4 Hermaphrodite Sea Slugs
Sea Hares, like all sea slugs, are hermaphrodites—having both male and female sex organs.
Sea Hares mate by forming chains of several animals. The Sea Hare in front acts as the female to the one directly behind it, and sometimes they even form a giant mating circle.
#3 Anglerfish Consummation
The Anglerfish female mates by consuming its male partner. Male anglerfish are born without a digestive system, so they have to latch onto a female for survival.
The tiny male will bite the female, releasing an enzyme that digests his skin, until he becomes nothing more than a lump on her body. When the female is ready to spawn, her "male appendage" is ready to release sperm to fertilize her egg.
#2 Inflating Barnacles
These crustaceans live in shallow or tidal waters often attaching themselves to the bottom of boats. But given their static nature, how on earth do they mate?
Turns out evolution has a brilliantly simple solution. The barnacle has an inflatable penis that is up to 50 times as long as its body, the longest in the animal kingdom, relative to body length.
#1 Octopus Bobbit
And at number one of our most outrageous underwater sex act countdown, the octopus which makes the ultimate sacrifice as part of the mating ritual.
The female octopus will only mate once in her life. Upon copulation, the males' penis, which formed on the third tentacle on the right side, will break off completely. But he will grow a new one before the next mating season.
New creature discoveries via: MNN
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Find Out About Sustainable Seafood
Video:
Barnacle Video: Stefan Siebert
Clown Fish Video: Richard Hogben
Photo Credit:
Hatchet Fish - © Arnold van Rooij/Thinkstock
Clownfish - ©Comstock Images/Thinkstock
Finding Nemo - ©AP Photo
Sea Hare 1 - ©iStockphoto.com/Sharon Metson
Sea Hare 2 - ©iStockphoto.com/Sharon Metson
Anglerfish 1 - ©Peter David/Getty Images
Anglerfish 2 - © John Seagrim/Getty Images
Barnacles - © Lyle Koehnlein/Thinkstock
Octopus 1 - © Javier Gonzalez/Thinkstock
Octopus 2 - © Vittorio Bruno/Thinkstock
Octopus 3 - ©Comstock/Thinkstock
