Blanket Octopus

ocean · cephalopod · deep sea · weird animals

Dramatic webbed arms. Female blanket octopuses have long, see-through webs that stretch between their arms like a magician's cape. Male blanket octopuses are much smaller and don't have these impressive webs at all.

Lives in open water. Blanket octopuses float around in the surface and middle layers of warm tropical and subtropical oceans, far from the seafloor. They drift through the water like ghostly spirits among the waves.

Four different species. Scientists have identified four different species of blanket octopuses, all belonging to the genus Tremoctopus. Each one lives in different parts of the warm ocean world.

Translucent and mysterious. Their transparent bodies and webbing make blanket octopuses one of the ocean's most magical-looking creatures. Very few people have ever seen one in the wild because they live in the deep, open ocean.