Curl Up with a Blanket Octopus

If you’ve seen the movie Oceans then you will probably recognize this bizarre creature. If you haven’t seen the movie I HIGHLY recommend it – the cinematography is absolutely breathtaking. But this creature here is a Blanket Octopus defined by the long transparent webs that are connected to the arms of the adult female octopus.

What’s funny about these creatures is their pronounced sexual dimorphism – females can grow to over 2 meters in length whereas the teeny males only reach around a few centimeters!

Blanket octopuses also have a few tricks up their sleeves. The creatures are immune to the venom of Portuguese Man o’ War and will actually rip off the jellyfish’s tentacles and carry them around for their own defense.

The most impressive defense mechanism though stems from the Blanket Octopuses lack of ink. Instead of using ink to scare off predators, the female (when threatened) will unfurl her large net-like membranes which billow gracefully in the water behind her. This “blanket” greatly increases her apparent size and I’m sure scares the bajeezes out of any potential predator.