The Insane Biology Of The Blanket Octopus
Summary
TLDRBlanket octopuses are unique marine creatures with distinctive fleshy sheets between their arms, used for defense against predators. They inhabit tropical and subtropical waters, displaying remarkable sexual size dimorphism with males being significantly smaller than females. These octopuses exhibit intelligence, immunity to certain toxins, and a fascinating mating ritual where males sacrifice themselves post-copulation. They also have a circulatory system with three hearts, and their blood contains hemocyanin, giving it a blue color and allowing efficient oxygen transport in cold depths.
Takeaways
- 🐙 The blanket octopus is unique among its family, with fleshy sheets between its arms that resemble a blanket when spread out.
- 🌊 These octopuses use their 'blankets' as a defense mechanism against predators, either to scare them away or to entangle them, allowing the octopus to escape.
- 🔍 The oldest known ancestor of the octopus, a 330-million-year-old fossil named 'Selipsima', suggests that the octopus lineage is older than previously thought and predates dinosaurs.
- 🌐 Blanket octopuses are found in tropical and subtropical waters, particularly in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, around Australia, and in New Zealand waters.
- 🕳️ They prefer to live in coral reefs and ocean floors, often hiding in small crevices and rock bottoms.
- 👥 Male and female blanket octopuses exhibit extreme sexual size dimorphism, with males being only an inch long and females growing up to six feet.
- 🦐 The mating process of blanket octopuses is intriguing, where males detach a specialized arm containing sperm, which the female then uses for fertilization.
- 🧠 Blanket octopuses are highly intelligent, capable of using tools, changing color for camouflage, and even utilizing the tentacles of the venomous Portuguese man o' war for defense.
- 🌡️ These octopuses can survive in varying water temperatures and are known to be nomadic, changing their habitat every 10 to 14 days.
- 💙 They have a unique circulatory system with three hearts and blue blood due to the presence of hemocyanin, which is efficient in cold conditions.
Q & A
What is unique about the appearance of blanket octopuses compared to other octopuses?
-Blanket octopuses have fleshy sheets stretched between their arms, which resemble a blanket when spread out, hence their name. This is a unique morphological feature compared to other octopuses.
How do blanket octopuses use their 'blankets' for defense?
-When threatened, blanket octopuses stretch their arms out to create a silhouette that can scare away predators. If this fails, they can detach the 'blankets' to entangle predators, allowing them to escape.
What is the significance of the 330-million-year-old fossil named 'Selipsima'?
-The fossil 'Selipsima' is considered the oldest known ancestor to the octopus, suggesting that the octopus lineage is older than previously believed and predates dinosaurs.
In what regions are blanket octopuses commonly found?
-Blanket octopuses are found in tropical and subtropical waters, particularly in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, off the coast of Australia, and in the waters of New Zealand.
What is the difference in size between male and female blanket octopuses?
-Male blanket octopuses grow barely up to an inch, while females can grow up to six feet in length, showcasing a significant sexual size dimorphism.
How do male blanket octopuses mate given the vast size difference between males and females?
-Male blanket octopuses have a specialized arm called hectocotylus, which they use to transfer sperm to the female. After mating, the males often die, and the females carry the eggs until they hatch.
What are the main predators of blanket octopuses?
-The main predators of blanket octopuses are large fish and some types of whales.
How do blanket octopuses use the tentacles of the Portuguese man o' war jellyfish?
-Blanket octopuses are immune to the sting of the Portuguese man o' war jellyfish. They break off the poisonous tentacles and use them as a defense mechanism against other predators.
What is the lifespan of a blanket octopus?
-The lifespan of a blanket octopus is relatively short, typically no longer than three to five years.
How does the circulatory system of a blanket octopus differ from other invertebrates?
-Blanket octopuses have a circulatory system consisting of arteries, capillaries, and veins lined with a cellular endothelium, which is not commonly seen in other invertebrates.
Why is the blood of blanket octopuses blue in color?
-The blood of blanket octopuses is blue due to the presence of hemocyanin, which is rich in copper and carries oxygen in the blood plasma instead of being carried by blood cells.
Outlines
🐙 Unique Defense Mechanisms of the Blanket Octopus
The first paragraph introduces the blanket octopus, highlighting its unique physical characteristics such as the fleshy sheets between its arms that resemble a blanket when spread out. These structures serve as a defense mechanism against predators. When threatened, they can stretch their arms to scare away predators or detach the 'blankets' to entangle the predator, allowing for escape. The paragraph also delves into the evolutionary history of octopuses, mentioning the 330-million-year-old fossil 'Selipsima' as an ancient ancestor. It discusses the octopus's habitat, which spans tropical and subtropical waters, and notes the significant sexual size dimorphism where males are much smaller than females. The mating process is also described, with males detaching a specialized arm for reproduction, leading to their death post-mating. Females carry and protect a large number of eggs until they hatch.
🌊 Camouflage and Behavioral Traits of the Blanket Octopus
The second paragraph focuses on the blanket octopus's ability to change color for camouflage and its intelligence, which is among the highest in invertebrates. It mentions their immunity to the sting of the Portuguese man o' war jellyfish, which they use as a weapon against predators. The paragraph also discusses the octopuses' nomadic nature, adapting to different water temperatures, and the correlation between water temperature and their size. The mating behavior is further elaborated, with males offering sperm-filled arms to females without coercion, leading to their post-mating demise. The intelligence of octopuses is underscored, including their ability to use tools and learn from observation. The potential for octopuses to become dominant ocean creatures if they had a longer lifespan is also considered.
💙 Physiological Adaptations and Life Cycle of the Blanket Octopus
The third paragraph delves into the physiological aspects of the blanket octopus, including its circulatory system with three hearts and the presence of hemocyanin, which gives its blood a blue color. It explains how hemocyanin is an adaptation for living in cold conditions due to its higher oxygen-carrying efficiency compared to hemoglobin. The reproductive process is detailed, with females laying a large number of eggs and exhibiting maternal care, ceasing to eat during the incubation period. After hatching, the female's body undergoes cellular suicide, leading to death. The life cycle continues with the larvae drifting in plankton clouds, where they face predation risks. The paragraph concludes by noting that, despite their elusive nature, blanket octopuses are not considered endangered, reflecting the challenges in studying their population due to their deep-sea habitat.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Blanket Octopuses
💡Sexual Size Dimorphism
💡Selipsima
💡Tropical and Subtropical Waters
💡Camouflage
💡Portuguese Man of War
💡Hemocyanin
💡Circulatory System
💡Mating Behavior
💡Larvae
Highlights
Blanket octopuses have unique fleshy sheets between their arms, resembling a blanket when spread out.
These 'blankets' serve as a defense mechanism against predators, rather than for hunting.
When threatened, they can detach their arms, leaving predators entangled and allowing escape.
A 330-million-year-old fossil named 'Selipsima' suggests octopuses are older than dinosaurs.
Blanket octopuses inhabit tropical and subtropical waters, often near coral reefs and ocean floors.
They exhibit sexual size dimorphism, with males being significantly smaller than females.
Male blanket octopuses have a unique mating strategy, detaching a specialized arm for reproduction.
Females can carry over 200,000 eggs, which they guard until hatching.
They are immune to the toxins of the Portuguese man o' war jellyfish, using its tentacles for defense.
Blanket octopuses show intelligence, using tools and exhibiting different personalities.
They have a circulatory system with three hearts, adapted for their unique physiology.
Their blood contains hemocyanin, giving it a blue color and allowing efficient oxygen transport in cold water.
After mating, male blanket octopuses die, while females fast and guard their eggs until they hatch.
The hatched larvae drift with plankton, facing predation until they mature.
Despite their unique characteristics, blanket octopuses are not considered endangered.
Transcripts
octopuses are incredible animals but
unlike other members of the octopus
family the blanket octopuses have sheets
of Flesh stretched between their arms
these sheets of meat when they spread
their arms look like a blanket and thus
the name blanket octopuses the only
morphological similarity between them is
the Silvery tone on their sides and the
very dark purple or blue dorsal surface
these blanket-like structures is
obviously not for worms instead they use
this web as their first line of defense
against predators when threatened
blanket octopuses are found to stretch
their arms out creating a silhouette
that is capable of scaring away the
Predators when these deceptive trick
does not work out they are capable of
detaching these blankets causing the
Predator to be entangled in the web
giving them enough time to escape
detaching these blankets may also happen
accidentally
believed to be the oldest known ancestor
to the octopus a 330 million year old
fossil named selipsima ported by the
name was found in Montana which leads
researchers to conclude that not only
did the octopus exist even longer than
they had originally believed but it's an
even more ancient species than the
dinosaurs this creature known as a
vampire report is most probably the
ancient ancestor of not only the octopus
but the vampire squid as well these
older cephalopod had 10 arms instead of
the eight that we see on the octopus of
today
they are found to inhabit in all the
tropical and subtropical Waters of our
planet blanket octopuses are commonly
found in tropical temperate seas in the
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans Coast
Australia and in the waters of New
Zealand they are frequently found to
live along the coral reefs and ocean
floor these octopuses make dance where
they live and can stay undetected in it
small crevices and rock bottoms are also
their preferred places to visit unlike
the ordinary octopuses that are found to
make only specific depths as habits the
blanket octopuses are found in deep
depth of the ocean floor this creates
another reason for the blanket octopuses
to be considered different from their
close cousins
among the many factors that make the
blanket Octopus as one of the weirdest
in the Marine World is the startling
difference in size between a male and
female male blanket octopuses grow
barely up to an inch while some females
are found to grow to a hoping six feet
in length the males are so small that
they could easily fit inside the ladies
pupils while a male blanket octopus
weighs a little over then what a walnut
wood the female blanket octopuses can
weigh almost 40 000 times more than the
males this drastic difference in size
and weight is called sexual size
dimorphism blanket octopuses are not the
only species to show sexual size
dimorphism but theirs is the most
substantial difference found in the
animal kingdom it appears to the Marine
scientists and biologists that the male
blanket octopuses spent the majority of
their energy on finding a potential
female to mate and not on growing did
you know that the present of male
blanket octopuses was a myth until they
were seen in the Fisherman's Net
though there are other species in the
animal kingdom showing sexual dimorphism
none of them have such a startling
difference as these blanket octopuses
how do they mate with such a difference
in size this question has intrigued
biologists for years the males have a
large arm known as hectica tylus in a
spherical pouch on their body these
large arms are in fact a modified
reproductive organs of the male when
they mate the hectica tileus detaches
from the male's body and the female
keeps it in their mental cavity until
her eggs are all fertilized soon after a
successful mate the males are found to
die as if their sole purpose of survival
was to have a successful mate the female
blanket octopuses can carry more than
200 000 eggs in a sausage-shaped
calcareous secretion at the base of the
dorsal arms they carry the eggs until
they hatch
the main predators of a blanket octopus
are large fishes and some types of
whales since the male blanket octopus is
very small they are vulnerable to attack
from fishes than the females the female
blanket octopuses unfurl their blankets
in the event of a threat from a
potential Predator this behavior is
quite common in the animal kingdom
generally the bigger prey appears the
more the Predators will be suspicious
and do not take a chance in the event
where these deceptive defense does not
work they can detach their blankets from
their body causing the Predators to be
Tangled in it the blanket of these
species floating the ocean waters is a
common sight in tropical and subtropical
oceans the blanket octopus like most of
the other octopuses have the ability to
change its color at will their ability
to observe their surroundings and change
color accordingly makes them capable of
excellent camouflage which is also an
example of their intelligence typically
they have silvery side and purple
surfaces
there are quite a few tricks these guys
have upped their sleeve in the case
where their blanket defense does not
work they do not freak out blanket
octopuses are immune to this Sting from
their highly toxic jellyfish Portuguese
man of war these octopuses are commonly
found to break off the poisonous
Tentacles from these jellyfishes and
using them to fight off other Predators
some divers have reported citing these
octopuses brandishing the tentacles of a
jellyfish considering them as a
Potential Threat
the blanket octopuses behave similarly
to the ordinary octopuses when it comes
to choosing their habitat these
creatures tend to find a new place to
stay every 10 to 14 days the reasons for
this Behavior can be attributed to their
opportunistic nature these octopuses can
survive in different water temperatures
making it easier for them to adapt to
the nomadic life this ability to survive
in varying temperature conditions is
said to be one of the reasons for these
species to have survived for millions of
years did you know that apart with
showing sexual dimorphism these
octopuses size also varies with the
temperature of the water they live in
the species living in warmer bodies of
water are much smaller than those
residing where it's colder
romantic yeah you heard me right blanket
octopuses are very wild creatures and
the epidome of Selfless Love now let's
get to the point when a male blanket
octopus finds a female he doesn't try to
prove himself or convince her that he's
the right guy instead he fills up his
small arm with his sperms and sticks it
to her body she can use it if she wants
no compulsion whatsoever all he wants is
her to be happy the little guys then
break their small arm containing the
sperms and swim away these male blanket
octopuses die almost soon after a
successful mate
all octopuses are intelligent including
the blanket octopuses in fact biologists
say that octopuses are the most
intelligent among the invertebrates they
can use tools create Gardens to
camouflage mimic other ocean animals and
perform tasks by watching other more
experienced octopuses blanket octopuses
are immune to the toxins of the
poisonous jellyfish the Portuguese man
of war these octopuses break the
tentacles of the jellyfish and are seen
to use it to defend themselves from
predators biologists who have researched
on the behavioral patterns of blanket
octopuses claims that they have
different temperaments towards specific
activities and objects this suggests
that they might have different
personalities or at least preferences
towards certain things some biologists
believe that if the lifespan of
octopuses were longer they would have
become one of the most intelligent and
dominant ocean animals alive
unfortunately they have a shorter
lifespan of no longer than three to five
years a longer lifespan would have given
them enough time to develop their
intelligence and improve their abilities
similar to the common Octopus as a
blanket octopus has three hearts and the
massive brain that's located inside
their colossal head each heart of a
blanket octopus serves a distinct
function the systemic heart is
responsible for pumping the blood
throughout their body while the two
branchial hearts are responsible for
pumping the blood through their pair of
gills when the animal swims the systemic
heart stops functioning and the amount
of oxygenated blood in their body drops
down to an alarming rate which is why
they aren't seen swimming rather seen
effortlessly gliding another exciting
Factor about them is the presence of a
circulatory system consisting of
arteries capillaries and veins and are
lined with a cellular endothelium this
is something that is not seen in the
other invertebrates the blood circulates
through the aorta in capillary system to
the vena cava after which the blood is
pumped through the gills by by the
auxiliary heart and back to the central
heart though there are morphological
differences between the male and female
blanket octopuses there aren't any
significant anatomical differences and
hence they have a similar circulatory
system
blanket octopuses are the epitome of
Amazement just like there is hemoglobin
in our blood that is responsible for
carrying oxygen to different parts of
our body octopuses have Hema cyanine in
their blood the hemocyanin is rich in
Copper and is mixed with blood plasma
instead of being carried by the blood
cells causing its blood to be blue in
color the blanket octopuses are found to
have high blood pressures in excess of
80 millimeters of mercury having
hemocyanin makes the blood viscous which
means it requires a considerable amount
of pressure to circulate the blood
throughout their body the presence of
hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin is an
evolutionary adaptation to living in
cold conditions octopuses in general are
found in considerable depth in their
natural habitat the temperature in those
depths will be very less than what is on
the surface and in such low temperatures
hemocyanin can carry oxygen more
efficiently than hemoglobin
the male blanket octopuses die almost as
soon as they transfer their arms
containing the sperms to the female once
the eggs are fertilized the females can
lay around 200
000 to 400 000 eggs the female species
are seen to take good care of the eggs
as if she's obsessed with eggs the
female blanket octopuses are even seen
to stop consuming food while they wait
for the eggs to hatch once the eggs
hatch the female's body starts shutting
down
cellular suicide happens which causes
her tissues and organs to rip apart this
continues until the adult blanket
octopus dies the hatched eggs are called
larvae and they are found to drift in
the Plankton clouds these larvae are
seen eating other animal larvae until
they mature when living in the Plankton
clouds they are prone to be eaten by
other species that survive on Plankton
these larvae do not have a blanket-like
structure for defense mother is capable
of using a poison Stinger like the
adults
though blanket octopuses are not widely
seen it does not imply to them being
endangered according to the
international Union for conservation of
nature most octopus species are not
endangered in fact it is difficult to
collect data about their numbers as most
octopuses live in great depth
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