The blanket octopus carries, as the name says, its own blanket — a security blanket, actually, used for defense. That is only one aspect of this amazing cephalopod. Read about the other fascinating traits that make it one of the most fascinating creatures in the ocean.
1. The Living Cape
Only female blanket octopuses have the massive, flowing “blanket,” a glowing web of skin stretching between their dorsal arms. When threatened, they unfurl this web to appear massive and intimidating. If a predator still attacks, the female can detach parts of this blanket to distract the predator while she swims to safety.
2. Extreme Size Difference
The blanket octopus holds the record for the most extreme sexual size dimorphism in the entire animal kingdom. Females can grow up to 6 feet long and weigh up to 40,000 times more than males, who are the size of a walnut (about 1 inch) and do not have the famous blanket.
3. Stolen Weaponry
Blanket octopuses are completely immune to the deadly sting of the Portuguese man o’ war. They will actually rip off the venomous tentacles of the jellyfish and use them like toxic whips to defend themselves and hunt for prey.
4. A Nomadic Lifestyle
Unlike most octopuses that hide in dens on the sea floor, the blanket octopus spends its entire life wandering the open ocean. The Common blanket octopus is found in Atlantic waters, including areas off western Africa, Europe and the Americas. Robson’s blanket octopuses live in the South Pacific, particularly around New Zealand. The Indo-Pacific violet blanket octopus lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, between Japan and Australia. The Gelatinous blanket octopus is found in the Atlantic, from Madagascar to the southeastern United States. Because they live in the vast, open pelagic zone, spotting one is incredibly rare.
5. Ultimate Sacrifice
Because the male is tiny, it expends all its energy looking for a mate. When it finds a female, it detaches a specialized arm filled with sperm and leaves it inside her. The male then swims away and dies shortly after. The female carries up to 100,000 eggs on a specialized anchor rod, guarding them until they hatch, after which she also perishes.
