Octopuses have always been addressed as loners, however, biologists have just discovered an underwater city that was built by octopuses. The scientists have named the underwater city as Octlantis (Octopuses + Atlantis). This complex octopus city was found near the Australian coast and houses 15 of the tentacled creatures. Octlantis is not far from the area where octopuses were seen gathering for fights in 2009 and gives us reason to believe that they may actually be social in nature. The research team from Alaska Pacific University were studying the octopuses in New South Wales when the shocking discovery was made.

While octopuses were earlier cited as lonely creatures, biologists found a group of 15 octopuses living together in an elaborate colony that resembles a city. Octlantis has intricate dens made from seashells and sand and measures 18×4 meters and is placed at a depth of 10 or 15 meters below sea level. The octopuses are seen gathering together and communicating in the area. The scientists did not have any answers as to how the octopuses came to live in the dens. 

The Sydney octopuses are being named as home-builders by the co-author of a new study based on the discovery of Octlantis, Stephanie Chancellor from the University of Illinois-Chicago. The press release about the city engineered by octopuses is proof that the social behaviour of an animal can evolve. Once thought to be loners, it seems like octopuses are tired of their single life and are finally looking to be in groups and socialise more.

“This suggests that when the right conditions occur, evolution may produce very similar outcomes in diverse groups of organisms,” David Scheel of Alaska Pacific University was quoted saying. This is not the first place that the octopuses have been found in groups. Earlier in 2009, a group of octopuses gathered around a common area to fight. This area was called as Octopolis. The existence of Octopolis and Octlantis have confirmed that there are still various unexplored areas of the oceans that hold several hidden secrets.