Showing posts tagged blanket octopus

astronomy-to-zoology:

Genus Tremoctopus

(Blanket Octopuses)

(not octopi, octopuses is correct when referring to different species)

Blanket octopuses are a genus of pelagic (open water) octopuses that live in most tropical oceans. They get the name blanket due to the fact that the females have long webbing on their tentacles which looks like a blanket. These species exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism as the females are alot bigger than males and have the webbing, whereas males are a few centimeters long and have no webbing. This webbing is used as a defense mechanism, when a predator approaches the female she unveils her webbing making her look alot bigger. They also have the Badass property of being immune to the Portuguese man o war’s toxin and actually rip off their tentacles and use them for defensive purposes.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Mollusca-Cephalopoda-Octopoda-Argonautoida-Tremoctopodidae-Tremoctopus

Image 1 Source, Image 2 Source.

(Reblogged from ichthyologist)
“Blanket Octopus” - Tremoctopus violaceus from I Cefalopodi viventi nel Golfo di Napoli (sistematica) : monografia, 1896, by Comingio Merculiano in Jatta Giuseppe View high resolution

“Blanket Octopus” - Tremoctopus violaceus

from I Cefalopodi viventi nel Golfo di Napoli (sistematica) : monografia, 1896, by Comingio Merculiano in Jatta Giuseppe

can you…

Tell me more about the blanket octopus?

Paxon: Indeed, all shall be revealed to you here:

http://rhamphotheca.tumblr.com/tagged/blanket_octopus

… and also check out this footage of a much smaller male encountered by divers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAzKYIlQGYY

Elusive and Mysterious Blanket Octopus

Blanket octopuses (Tremoctopus violaceus) are so called because of the transparent webbing connecting their dorsal and dorsolateral arms, which resembles a large a large flowing blanket.

The “blanket” is a defense mechanism, and a handy one too, as Blanket Octopuses do not have ink to ward off predators. Instead, the Blanket Octopus will unfurl its blanket, making it look significantly larger and intimidating, with the intention of scaring off whatever threatens it.

(via: Amazing Earth)

j-barnes: Blanket Octopus - Tremoctopus spp. Blanket octopodes (or octopuses, not octopi!!) get their name from the appearance of the female when she is threatened. Unlike most octopuses that produce ink, when threatened the female blanket octopus unveils a net-like membrane between her arms, making her look as big as possible. Blanket octopuses have extreme sexual dimorphism. The female can reach lengths of over two metres whereas the males are only a few mere centimetres.  Blanket octopuses also have the unusual characteristic of being immune to the stinging tentacles of the Portuguese man o’ war. However, they do not feed on this creature, instead the octopuses rip off their tentacles and use them for their own defences. View high resolution

j-barnes: Blanket Octopus - Tremoctopus spp.

Blanket octopodes (or octopuses, not octopi!!) get their name from the appearance of the female when she is threatened. Unlike most octopuses that produce ink, when threatened the female blanket octopus unveils a net-like membrane between her arms, making her look as big as possible.

Blanket octopuses have extreme sexual dimorphism. The female can reach lengths of over two metres whereas the males are only a few mere centimetres.

 Blanket octopuses also have the unusual characteristic of being immune to the stinging tentacles of the Portuguese man o’ war. However, they do not feed on this creature, instead the octopuses rip off their tentacles and use them for their own defences.

(Reblogged from j-barnes)
alchymista:biology-blog: Blanket Octopus Believe it or not, this is an octopus known as the blanket octopus. Aka the coolest cephalopod ever; I am not convinced that Superman isn’t based on one of these. When the female blanket octopus is threatened, she will release a thin, webbing “cape” that appears to increase her size and cause intimidation. I recommend this video (though it is not in English) if you want to see a blanket octopus in action. Aside from their general appearance, there are a few really unique characteristics that these guys have which make them extremely interesting. First, they are completely immune to the venom of the Portuguese man o’ war. You know, those deadly creatures that resemble jellyfish (I’ll go into why they’re not actually jellyfish another time). The blanket octopus will actually carry man o’ war stingers around, using them to her own defense and to lure away potential predators.  You’re probably wondering why I keep referring to the blanket octopus as a female. Which leads to the second point of interest— the blanket octopus exhibits one of the highest degrees of sexual dimorphism in the animal kingdom (rivaled by many types of angler fish). This means that males and females look extremely different from each other. In the case of the blanket octopus, males are only a couple of centimeters long at most, and die immediately following reproduction.  Oh, and while I’m at it, the plural of octopus is actually octopodes. But octopuses is also acceptable— just not octopi. View high resolution

alchymista:biology-blog: Blanket Octopus

Believe it or not, this is an octopus known as the blanket octopus. Aka the coolest cephalopod ever; I am not convinced that Superman isn’t based on one of these. When the female blanket octopus is threatened, she will release a thin, webbing “cape” that appears to increase her size and cause intimidation. I recommend this video (though it is not in English) if you want to see a blanket octopus in action.

Aside from their general appearance, there are a few really unique characteristics that these guys have which make them extremely interesting. First, they are completely immune to the venom of the Portuguese man o’ war. You know, those deadly creatures that resemble jellyfish (I’ll go into why they’re not actually jellyfish another time). The blanket octopus will actually carry man o’ war stingers around, using them to her own defense and to lure away potential predators. 

You’re probably wondering why I keep referring to the blanket octopus as a female. Which leads to the second point of interest— the blanket octopus exhibits one of the highest degrees of sexual dimorphism in the animal kingdom (rivaled by many types of angler fish). This means that males and females look extremely different from each other. In the case of the blanket octopus, males are only a couple of centimeters long at most, and die immediately following reproduction. 

Oh, and while I’m at it, the plural of octopus is actually octopodes. But octopuses is also acceptable— just not octopi.

(Reblogged from ecdysozoa)
labellum:  Blanket  Octopus (Tremoctopus sp.) 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.  (text: thefeaturedcreature.com)

labellum:  Blanket  Octopus (Tremoctopus sp.)

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.

 (text: thefeaturedcreature.com)

(Reblogged from labellum)
tentacritters: Blanket octopus (Tremoctopus sp.) She looks almost like some sort of spectre, gliding through the deep. View high resolution

tentacritters: Blanket octopus (Tremoctopus sp.)

She looks almost like some sort of spectre, gliding through the deep.

(Reblogged from digitalhodgepodge)
tentaclegarden:zolanimals: The Blanket Octopus (Tremoctopus sp.) View high resolution

tentaclegarden:zolanimals: The Blanket Octopus (Tremoctopus sp.)

(Reblogged from tentaclegarden)
benthos: Tremoctopus (blanket octopus) Females can grow to over 2m long, whereas the males rarely reach over a few cm long.

benthos: Tremoctopus (blanket octopus)

Females can grow to over 2m long, whereas the males rarely reach over a few cm long.

(Reblogged from benthos)
animalworld: BLANKET OCTOPUS  ©www.oversodoinverso.com Tremoctopus is a genus of pelagic cephalopods, containing four species that occupy surface to mid-waters in subtropical and tropical oceans. They are commonly known as blanket octopuses, in reference to the long transparent webs that connect the dorsal and dorsolateral arms of the adult females. The other arms are much shorter and lack webbing. These species exhibit an extreme degree of sexual dimorphism. Females may grow to over 2 metres in length whereas the tiny males are at most a few centimeters long. The males have a specially modified third right arm which stores sperm, known as a hectocotylus. During mating, this arm detaches itself and crawls into the mantle of the female to fertilize her eggs. The male dies shortly after mating. The females carry over 100,000 tiny eggs that are attached to a sausage-shaped calcareous secretion held at the base of the dorsal arms and carried by the female until hatching. These species have evolved an unusual defense mechanism: blanket octopuses are immune to the poisonous Portuguese man o’ war, whose tentacles the male and immature females rip off and use for defensive purposes. Also, unlike many other octopuses, the blanket octopus does not use ink to intimidate potential predators. When threatened, the female unfurls her large net-like membranes that spread out and billow in the water, greatly increasing her apparent size. Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanket_octopus Other photos you may enjoy: Common Octopus (with 96 arms) Octopus Camouflage Blue-Ringed Octopus View high resolution

animalworld: BLANKET OCTOPUS  ©www.oversodoinverso.com

Tremoctopus is a genus of pelagic cephalopods, containing four species that occupy surface to mid-waters in subtropical and tropical oceans. They are commonly known as blanket octopuses, in reference to the long transparent webs that connect the dorsal and dorsolateral arms of the adult females. The other arms are much shorter and lack webbing.

These species exhibit an extreme degree of sexual dimorphism. Females may grow to over 2 metres in length whereas the tiny males are at most a few centimeters long. The males have a specially modified third right arm which stores sperm, known as a hectocotylus. During mating, this arm detaches itself and crawls into the mantle of the female to fertilize her eggs. The male dies shortly after mating. The females carry over 100,000 tiny eggs that are attached to a sausage-shaped calcareous secretion held at the base of the dorsal arms and carried by the female until hatching.

These species have evolved an unusual defense mechanism: blanket octopuses are immune to the poisonous Portuguese man o’ war, whose tentacles the male and immature females rip off and use for defensive purposes. Also, unlike many other octopuses, the blanket octopus does not use ink to intimidate potential predators. When threatened, the female unfurls her large net-like membranes that spread out and billow in the water, greatly increasing her apparent size.

Fact Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanket_octopus

Other photos you may enjoy:

Common Octopus (with 96 arms)

Octopus Camouflage

Blue-Ringed Octopus

(Reblogged from animalworld)