As a pelagic species, the blanket octopus spends its life gliding through the open ocean. Rarely seen by humans, not much is known about this unusual member of the octopus family, but what is known is as fascinating as it is bizarre.
Unlike many of its relatives, this breed of octopus doesn’t dwell on the bottom of the sea or in reefs. It has no place to hide in the open water, so it has developed some very unusual ways to protect and defend itself against attackers.
The female blanket octopus is the larger of the species, with average lengths of 6.5 feet. To add to her already impressive size, this breed of cephalopod has a large, stretchy membrane between her tentacles, which she can throw out into a wide, scarf-like drapery. This makes the octopus appear much larger, which is an excellent deterrent to predators. This cape-like membrane can be detached if it becomes entangled, or to aid in escaping a particularly determined predator.
This delicate-looking lady is actually quite a warrior princess. The blanket octopus is immune to the stings of the Portuguese Man-o-War, which is toxic and excruciatingly painful to humans and most marine animals. Instead, the blanket octopus will actually rip off these poisonous strands from a Man-o-War and use them as a weapon, flinging them around like a whip. An unsuspecting diver who tries to touch this octopus may be rewarded with a flesh-searing sting for his trouble. They also use the stolen stingers to kill other fish, making them highly adaptive and intelligent hunters of the sea.
The male of the species is quite the opposite at 10,000 times smaller than their female counterparts, measuring just a couple inches in length and without the blanket membrane of the female. They have a very short life span as well. During mating, the male tears off his hectocotylus (a special tentacle that contains sperm) to deposit it into the female’s mantle to be used for fertilization, soon after which he dies.
Also immune to Man-o-War venom, the males will swipe tentacles for defensive purposes. This is one species of octopus that has no problems fending for itself in the vast expanse of the deep sea. A rare sight for scuba divers, take a look at this short video showing the blanket octopus with its unique cape fully unfurled.
