An octopus can be a pretty strict boss. In fact, it sometimes punches “employees” in the face! Wait–what?

The “workplace” we are talking about is the ocean floor, where octopuses and fish sometimes hunt together. They make a good team! The fish fan out around the octopus, checking for little ocean creatures under rocks and shells. When the fish find something, the octopus covers the area with its body, trapping the prey. The octopus often gets the meal. But sometimes the prey escapes the octopus and gets eaten by the fish. So, teaming up is good for everyone (except the prey, of course).

But scientists have seen octopuses punching some of the fish during the hunt. The octopus just whips one arm out and—BLAM!—hits the fish hard. But why? Some kinds of fish are excellent team players. But one type of fish, the blacktip grouper, often hangs out on the edges of the group, not really helping. Then it tries to take the food anyway! Scientists found that these freeloading fish get punched by octopuses more often than the “helper” fish. Ouch!

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