Interacciones macho-hembra del pulpo rojo patagónico Enteroctopus megalocyathus (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) durante el comportamiento de apareamiento

the mating behavior of eight couples of enteroctopus megalocyathus was evaluated under laboratory conditions by videotaping for 24 h. the precopulatory behavior (cp) was characterized by three patterns (swimming, exhibition and contact) and copulatory behavior (cc) was characterized by display of a single pattern (copulation). of the total interaction time between octopuses, 34.4% corresponds to cp and 65.6% corresponds to cc. between times of males and females were not significantly different by pattern. in all events, compared to each other for the duration, presented the following order: copulation > contact > exhibition > swimming. there was a trend towards longer periods of mating where the female weight was higher than the male, suggesting that female weight is a determining factor in the duration of mating encounters.