With social media activity on the rise, there is bound for some mysterious creature videos to show up. Common folklore can often be disproven by realizing that these tales describe a real creature rather than a scary monster. An example of this is the viral video that @Daghjh 4 posted on Facebook. Their page is dedicated to posting fishing videos. Comments saying it must be alien or a mermaid were fruitful, but most of them were sarcastic. Either way, the animal in the video is a very unique ocean creature, a blanket octopus.
The blanket octopus is a fascinating ocean animal. Despite a short lifespan of roughly 4 years, females can grow to be up to 6 feet long. Male blanket octopuses on average live only one to two years and only grow to about an inch. While this seems to be a tragic ending, the sole purpose of a male blanket octopus is to breed and then die. Life cycles like this are actually very common in the animal kingdom. Female blanket octopuses live just long enough for their eggs to hatch and then they too die.
The size difference between male and female blanket octopuses raises an interesting question: “How do blanket octopuses mate?” The male octopus has a body part called a hectocotylus, a modified arm that holds the male’s sperm. During the mating process the male breaks off this arm and gives it to the female, effectively killing itself in the process. Females can lay up to 100,000 eggs, and then spread the sperm over the eggs to fertilize them. 
They like to spend their time in tropical environments, often coral reefs but enjoying swimming around to other subtropical environments. Blanket octopuses are carnivorous, feasting on small fish and mollusks. Despite not having known predators, they have an unique defense system. The Portuguese man o’ war is a type of siphonophore, even though it is often referred to as a jellyfish. Their stinging tentacles are often fatal for humans, but not for the blanket octopus. Rather than being injured, they will actually take the stinging tentacles and hold them as weapons.
Sources:
“Blanket Octopus Facts.” Animals, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/blanket-octopus?loggedin=true&rnd=1694024075221. Accessed 06 Sept. 2023.
“Blanket Octopus.” Great Barrier Reef Foundation, www.barrierreef.org/the-reef/animals/blanket-octopus#:~:text=The%20blanket%20octopus%20is%20found,water%20they%20can%20roam%20in. Accessed 06 Sept. 2023.
“Blanket Octopus.” OctoNation, 27 Nov. 2021, octonation.com/octopedia/blanket-octopus/. Accessed 06 Sept. 2023.
“Can Someone Tell Me What Sea Monster This Is? @ah: Can Someone Tell Me What Sea Monster This Is? @ah: By Daghjh 4: Facebook.” Discover Popular Videos, 21 May 2023, fb.watch/mUtP36LSEc/. Accessed 06 Sept. 2023.
“What Is a Portuguese Man o’ War?” NOAA’s National Ocean Service, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/portuguese-man-o-war.html#:~:text=The%20Portuguese%20man%20o’%20war%2C%20(Physalia%20physalis)%20is,are%20closely%20related%20to%20jellyfish. Accessed 06 Sept. 2023.
“The Female Blanket Octopus: The Superhero of the Ocean!” OctoNation, 2 Sept. 2023, octonation.com/fun-facts-about-the-female-blanket-octopus/.
www.naturepl.com/stock-photo-pelagic-blanket-octopus-tremoctopus-gracilis-female-swimming-roling-nature-image01649594.html. Accessed 13 Sept. 2023.
