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An Adult Female Blanket Octopus
“Blanket octopus” sounds like an endearing nursery game, but the blanket octopuses are actually pelagic hunters which have adapted to living in the ultra-competitive environment of the open ocean. There are four species of blanket octopuses (Tremoctopus) which can be found ranging from the surface to medium depths of open tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. Because they often live far from any land, some of the methods which other octopuses use to escape predators do not work very well for them. Fortunately Blanket octopuses have adapted in their own unique bag of tricks.
An Adult Female Blanket Octopus
Blanket octopuses are named after the distinctive appearance of adult female octopuses which grow long transparent/translucent webs between their dorsal and dorsolateral arms. Blanket octopuses use these webs as nets for hunting fish, but they can also unfurl and darken their nets in order to appear much larger than they actually are. Since blanket octopuses do not produce ink and can not camouflage themselves as rocks, coral, or sand, they rely heavily on their blankets. As a last resort they can jettison the blankets as a decoy and jet away while the confused predator attacks the highly visible membranes.
Blanket octopuses exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism. Whereas the female octopus can grow up to 2 meters (6 feet) in length, the male octopus is puny and does not grown longer than a few centimeters (1 to 2 inches). Males store their sperm in a modified quasi-sentient third right arm, known as a hectocotylus. During mating this arm detaches itself and crawls into the female’s reproductive vent. As soon as the hectocotylus is detached the male becomes unnecessary and dies.
Male Blanket Octopus
Tiny males and immature females do not have blankets, but they utilize another trick to protect themselves. Because they hunt jellyfish and other hydrozoans, the little octopuses are immune to the potent venom of the Portuguese man o’war. The octopuses tear off stinging tentacles from the man o’war and wield them in their tentacles like little whips to ward off predators.
An amazing illustration of a blanket octopus sheltering in a Portuguese man o’war’s tentacles
A very lovely photograph of an octopus kite by Nigel Bence
Ferrebeekeeper has written about actual flying squids which dart above the water waving their lateral fins to extend their gliding ability. But real squid are not the only cephalopods that one sees in the skies–especially around springtime. Two of the classical shapes for kites are squid & octopus shape. The squid’s finned oblong shape, and the octopus’ round shape are perfect for balance and for catching the wind. The dangling tentacles act perfectly as multiple tails. This spring has taken a cold gray turn—at least in New York, but while you are inside planning what to do during May, perhaps you should build some octopus and squid kites. Here is a little gallery of images from different kite festivals and kite makers around the world.
A Commercially available Octopus kite/kit
Like squids and octopuses, none of the kites I had when growing up ever lasted long (well none of the ones I actually flew). The beautiful range of mollusks suspended on the wind in the sky makes me wonder if I have any time to get out some dowels and crepe paper and build some more kites [sadly you do not have any such time—ed.]. As the soon as the weather clears up again, I hope you enjoy some kite flying!
In the past this site has featured posts about how some of my favorite organisms and mythical beings have been used as mascots or logos. I have blogged about turkeys, leprechauns, trees, and catfish as adopted as the symbols for businesses, sports teams, or individuals. These posts have been fairly open because mascots and logos are often loosely defined: sometimes an informal name catches on or a novelty statue becomes the symbol of a town. Indeed some of the images I included are only maniacs in costumes or striking illustrations. So be it! Such usages highlight the way in which these animals and concepts are worked into the fabric of our lives.
None of this prepared me for how mollusks have become mascots, logos, and symbols. One of the many reasons I write about mollusks is because they are so alien and yet simultaneously so pervasive and familiar. That idea is borne out by mollusk symbols! Not only is one of the world’s largest companies symbolized by a mollusk (to say nothing of how a squid has wiggled its way into becoming the unofficial mascot of one of the world’s richest and most controversial financial entities), some of the world’s strangest entities are also represented by octopus, squid, or shellfish.
The evolving logo of Royal Dutch Shell through the ages
SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion: a fictional evil organization from the James Bond Universe
Squidoo is a community website which specializes in particular areas of user interest (or something)
Grimace, the loveable purple blob was originally a grabby octopus: he did not test well in focus groups so ad executives from DDB Needham (the agency behind the McDonald's characters) simply ripped his arms off
The logo of a server farm
Oakie the Oyster, the face of the Halifax Oyster festival hobnobs with another mascot
Mollusk logos are immensely popular in Japan. Sometimes the reason is evident (as in squid flavored noodles with a cartoon squid on them), but other times the reasoning is elusive. Mollusks in Asian art deserve a post all of their own. Indeed the subject deserves more than that—for tentacles are so tangled up with fertility issues to the fervid Japanese imagination that my family blog is not going to explore some of the outré fringes of mollusk imagery in that island land. With that explanation (or caveat), here are some particularly good Japanese mascots–denied of any context since I don’t read that language!
Um...squid flavored?
Japanese Octopus Ice Cream
Squid Costume
?
Actually I have no idea if those last five are mascots or logos or what. Whatever they are, they come from Shinici MARUYAMA and they are jaw-droppingly incredible. The Japanese certainly have a very special relationship with mollusks!
