Forget roses and chocolates—male blue-lined octopuses prefer a venomous bite to set the mood. These clever cephalopods use tetrodotoxin, the same deadly poison found in pufferfish, to immobilize their larger (and potentially cannibalistic) mates. It’s not exactly romance, but it gets the job done. Scientists are calling it “safe sex, octopus-style,” proving once again that nature is weirder than fiction.
Octopuses Use Venom for Safe Sex, Biologists Reveal
