In 1977, Roy Caldwell, marine biologist at UC Berkeley, first saw the unusual tiny octopus in Panama. Caldwell said that the octopus, which was about the size of his little finger, was striped and pretty. After studying some specimens, Caldwell found that the octopus has strange hunting behavior.

After that incident, Caldwell tried to learn more about Octopus chierchiae, also known as larger Pacific striped octopus (LPSO). According to Caldwell, he noticed that the tennis-ball-sized octopus had strange behavior.

Between 2012 and 2014 ,Caldwell and his colleagues observed LPSO and on Wednesday they published a paper in journal PLOS One and revealed what they have discovered. According to Caldwell, it was hunting technique of the LPSO that surprised the researchers. The technique could be compared to a tiger's hunting technique.

When LPSO was on hunt, it first identified its prey, squeezed its body and then extended its one arm over the prey. After that, it poked the prey and drew it into its arms. It was surprising and dramatic as other octopuses don't use this hunting strategy, Caldwell said.

According to Caldwell, "The new study was a vindication of sorts for coauthor Arcadio Rodaniche, who made some of the first observations of LPSO a quarter of a century ago".

Daniel Rokhsar, lead author of the study and a researcher from UC Berkeley and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, said that the new study will reveal more about octopus genetics.