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Cephalopods are characterized by a substantial behavioral flexibility during reproductive interactions; however, for octopods rather few studies have provided empirical information on the mechanisms operating during male–male and male–female encounters. Using the small south American octopus Robsonella fontaniana (∼ 270 mm total length,∼ 70 mm mantle length), we evaluated the mating behavior based on octopuses from central Chile. Eighteen male–female and five male–male interactions were characterized in laboratory using ethograms divided into precopulatory and copulatory stages. Although subjects’ interactions occurred in both treatments, extended mating periods (81–196 min) were only observed in the male–female trials, and specifically, in those involving larger octopuses (39% of the interactions;> 43 mm mantle length). During the precopulatory stage (4–20 min), different behavioral …