The common blanket octopus (Tremoctopus violaceus) exhibits one of the most extreme sexual size-dimorphism known in any animal near its size or larger. [3] [4] Females may reach 2 m (6.6 ft) in length, whereas the males are 2.4 cm (1 inch). The weight ratio is at least 10,000:1, and can probably reach as much as 40,000:1.

Males give their right arm for a mate. The tiny males, if they’re lucky enough to find a receptive female, hands over a fist full of sperm, attached to a modified arm, which subsequently detaches from the male’s body. This arm is called a hectocotylus and …

With the largest sex size discrepancy in the animal kingdom, a male blanket octopus weighs 40,000 times less than the female. The Blanket Octopus gets its name from its female counterpart: rarely-seen and super-sized, the female blanket octopus has a long, fleshy ‘cape’ enclosing its tentacles.

Jan 5, 2023 · The male blanket octopuses are smaller than a walnut (and do not have a cape) while female octopuses are super-sized—having one long fleshy cape that encloses their arms. The female blanket octopus can grow up to six feet in length.

Blanket octopus pairs are some of the undersea world’s oddest couples. What’s so startling is the size difference: Males are about the size of a walnut—less than an inch long—but some females...

Feb 12, 2003 · A male blanket octopus fills a modified tentacle with sperm, tears it off, presents it to its prospective mates, and then drifts off to certain death.

The third right arm in male blanket octopus is called the hectocotylus, which has a sperm-filled pouch between the arms. When the male is ready to mate, the pouch ruptures, and sperm is released into the arm.

May 27, 2024 · Little Men: Males don’t possess the trademark rainbow blanket this octopus is known for, but they’re also barely the size of a walnut. In fact, they’re so difficult to sight that live masculine specimen weren’t even identified in the wild until the early 2000s.

The third right arm in male blanket octopus is called the hectocotylus, which has a sperm-filled pouch between the arms. When the male is ready to mate, the pouch ruptures, and sperm is released into the arm.

Abstract The first encounter with a live male blanket octopus, Tremoctopus violaceus Chiaie, 1830, illustrates the most extreme example of sexual size-dimorphism in a non-microscopic animal. Females attain sizes of up to 2 m long—almost 2 orders of …