What's better than seeing a rare sea creature?
Well, seeing two of them and capturing them on camera, of course!
The deep sea never fails to amaze us with bouts of often odd and elusive, yet all the more wonderful creatures.
Take
the recent sighting of the rare blanket octopus, which the lucky cameraman Joseph Elayani was able to encounter and film in the wild. On
a night dive in the open sea at Romblon (Philippines), at depths of 9-22 m [1], he caught sight of not only one but a pair of female rainbow-colored blanket octopus. It was a glorious moment for Elayani as he witnessed the rapidly shifting colors of the arms, from hues of pastel blues and purple to stunning reds and oranges. This change in color is deemed to be the octopus' reaction from the different light levels of the camera or as a strategy to ward off predators [2].
 |
| Credits to Joseph Elayani via Cater News |
Blanket
octopuses are pelagic creatures found in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and the
Pacific, in tropical to subtropical waters. They belong to the genus Tremoctopus
[3]. It got its name from the sheets of webbing that extend between some
of their arms [4].
Octopus, in general, are known to be masters of disguise, changing color patters to blend to their environment and escape predators or sneak on their prey or even mimic other species. Blanket octopus, meanwhile, are known to spread their majestic arms out to drive away
would-be predators [4].
One
of the things that make them odd is the sheer size difference between sexes: while males are less than an inch long, females can grow up to six feet long
and weigh up to 40,000 more than males. It's also unusual that they are immune to
the stinging cells of the perilous jellyfish Portuguese man-of-war, which it uses
as a weapon against predators [4].
Current
population data on blanket octopus is unknown [4]. For the meantime, immerse in the
beauty that these two lovely octopuses have to offer.
We welcome collaboration with marine scientists and enthusiasts alike.
If you have more information or photos on blanket octopuses, you can leave us a message at sealifebase[at]gmail[dot]com.
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[1] Good News
Pilipinas. Rare rainbow-colored blanket octopus caught on diver’s camera in
Romblon waters. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2Y3HEVL
[2] Best, S. (18 Jun 2019). Stunning rainbow blanket octopuses spotted swimming in depths of ocean. Mirror. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2YiRpKU
[3] Turgeon,
D.D.; Quinn, J.F. Jr.; Bogan, A.E.; Coan, E.V.; Hochberg, F.G.; Lyons, W.G.;
Mikkelsen, P.M.; Neves, R.J.; Roper, C.F.E.; Rosenberg, G.; Roth, B. (1998).
Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and
Canada: Mollusks, 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society (Special publication
26), Bethesda, Maryland. 526 p.
[4] National
Geographic. Blanket octopus. Retrieved from
https://on.natgeo.com/32VuskK
[5] USA
Today (4 June 2019). Rare 'rainbow' blanket octopuses caught on camera in the
Phillippines | USA TODAY. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2L92yem
