The Four Species of Blanket Octopus

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The ocean is this queen's runway, and we're just lucky to witness her glide down it. 
 

Blanket Octopus : Tremoctopus 

Finally we find an animal where DNA determines females get the flashy traits and not the males. When it comes to survival, it happens to be that males typically have brighter feathers or a red balloon under his neck or some other supposedly attractive trait to guarantee his flashy traits get passed down. I mean, even humans make the list. Why is it that every single guy I know has better eyelashes than me?

Blanket Octopuses are found in the coral reefs of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans' sub-tropical and tropical waters. There are four kinds of Blanket Octopuses, which I'll cover in this post, and in all four species, it's the females who have the sunset-colored, billowing capes that give Blanket Octopuses their name. 

What's even more shocking than the fact that the ladies finally get to stand out from the crowd is that the males are really tiny. And I don't mean that in a demeaning rated R way, but in a way that attempts to convey my amazement and amusement when finding out that male Blanket Octopuses are typically only one inch long. Female Blanket Octopuses can grow up to six feet long. Go ladies. 

All Blanket Octopuses come in a range of iridescent coloring, but each species has unique characteristics of its own. In the next post, we'll learn all about the four types of Blanket Octopus. 

EDIT: JK this post looks too short. I'm gonna add on here instead. Here is all the info you need to know about Blanket Octopuses.


Common Blanket Octopus (Tremoctopus violaceus)

Also known as the Violet Blanket Octopus, this species of Tremoctopus is found in the Northern and Southern regions of the Atlantic Ocean. Unsurprisingly, the Common Blanket Octopus is the most common of the four species, and similar to the others, the Common Blanket Octopus has extreme sexual dimorphism. Females are around two meters while males are around 2.5 cm. 

This species is also known for its immunity to the Portuguese Man of War, a venomous siphonophore. Smaller sized octopus, mostly males and small females, tear off and carry around the tentacles of this siphonophore much in the savage way it sounds. Although this defense technique doesn't work as well for larger Blanket Octopuses, these tentacles provide protection and a hunting strategy for the small sized octopuses. 


Gelatinous Blanket Octopus (Tremoctopus gelatus)

I think this is kind of a mean name. Maybe it's because I think of gelantinous -> gluttony -> deadly sin -> ugly, fat demon. That's not the case here. Tremoctopus gelatus gets its name from its clear body, so transparent that one could see through the other side of its body. This particular type of Blanket Octopus lives in deeper depths than the Common Blanket Octopus


Robson's Blanket Octopus (Tremoctopus robsoni)

Named after I'm assuming the person who discovered this species of Blanket Octopus, Robson's Blanket Octopus is found exclusively in the waters of New Zealand. Very little research has been done on this type of Blanket Octopus, hence the very short description that I'm trying to make longer. 


Indo-Pacific Blanket Octopus (Tremoctopus gracilis)

Well, well. Even less is known about this type of Blanket Octopus. As its name suggests, the Indo-Pacific Blanket Octopus is found in the Indo-Pacific regions. As far as I can tell, there's little research done on this species because I keep getting search results of the gracilis muscle instead of an octopus. The most significant difference in characteristics of the four types of Blanket Octopus appear to be its geographic distribution. 


https://ourmarinespecies.com/c-other-species/blanket-octopuses/

http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/Tremoctopus.php

https://ourmarinespecies.com/c-other-species/blanket-octopuses/




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