THE MASS stranding of octopuses on a New Quay beach last autumn has prompted a biologist to set up a Facebook group to record sightings.

Biologist Dr Gavan Cooke, of Anglia Ruskin University, is calling on the public to help improve knowledge of the octopuses, squid and cuttlefish living off the coast of the British Isles.

Although these creatures, which are all cephalopods, have been the subject of extensive research around the world, surprisingly little is known about their behaviour closer to home.

Dr Cooke is asking anyone spending time by the sea this summer – whether diving, beachcombing or exploring rockpools – to submit their photos to ‘UK cephalopod reports’ and help scientists expand their knowledge of where cephalopods live, and how they behave, off the British coast.

“Considering how charismatic these creatures are, and how much scientific research has been carried out into them, we actually know very little about what our own cephalopods are up to here in Britain,” said Dr Cooke.

“Last autumn’s mass stranding of octopuses in Wales really did make us question what we thought we knew about them.

“For example, they are thought to be solitary animals that are found at depths in rocky areas, rather than close together on a sandy beach."

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday