Blanket Octopus Facts for Kids

Blanket Octopus Facts for Kids

Blanket octopus (Tremoctopus) is a genus of octopus that contains four species. It lives on the surface of the tropical waters.

The blanket octopus splays out its long arms in case it senses any danger. The fleshy cloak within those arms scare away predators. Besides, it can also ward off its predator by losing its arms into the mouth of the predator. But perhaps the most bizarre defense mechanism of this octopus is its ability to carry venomous tentacles of the Portuguese man o’war and use these to fend off predators.

A female blanket octopus grows up to a length of 6.6 feet while the dwarf-sized males are only 2.4 centimeters long. In comparison to the male octopus, a female can be 40,000 times heavier. Likewise, she is also 100,000 times larger than the male octopus.

In size, weight and texture, the male and female blanket octopuses show extreme differences. This is known as sexual dimorphism. The difference is so extreme that it’s the only species in the world that show such huge differences in size and weight.

For breeding, males have a long arm but it is detached in the process and it is given to the mating partner. After mating, the male octopus passes away.

There are 100,000 eggs glued to the female’s dorsal arms and she keeps these eggs for hatching.

These octopuses inhabit mid-waters around the world’s tropical ocean waters.

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