It turns out solitary octopuses actually like to partake in multi-species hunting parties. They join fish on their revels and have even been caught disciplining unruly hunting companions with a sly punch.

As octopuses are not known to often seek the company of others of their own kind, their astounding intelligence, a behavioral trait usually associated with being social, has long been a puzzle.

Now, a new study provides another striking example of their remarkable intelligence.

Tracking 13 mixed-species hunting groups, Max Planck Institute behavioral ecologist Eduardo Sampaio and colleagues found a surprising level of sophistication in the way octopuses and fish hunt together in groups.

Some of these species are separated by over 550 million years of evolution, yet they can still organize and cooperate towards a mutual benefit. Both octopuses and fish increase their catch rates of crustaceans, fish, and molluscs as a result, the researchers determined using field experiments.