Memory Palace

Blanket Octopus

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.

Young individuals carry broken tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war (jellyfish) on the suckers of the dorsal four arms. The borrowed tentacles, which have stinging cells, presumably have a defensive and/or offensive function.

Males are dwarfs (15 mm ML), often reaching only 5-10% of the female size. The females carry numerous (100,000 to 150,000) small eggs (0.9 X 1.5 mm in size). The eggs are attached to a secreted sausage-shaped rod held at the base of the dorsal arms and carried by the female until hatching. The hatchling has the arm bases in a cuff as in Argonauta.

(Source: Tree of Life Project—Tremoctopus)