Rare Blanket Octopus Seen 'Dancing Through the Water' in the Great Barrier Reef

The sparkling blanket octopus has only been seen in the wild by a few people, making it one of the most unusual marine creatures.

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Jacinta Shackleton, a reef guide and marine biologist, noticed the technicolor marine mollusk off the shore of Lady Elliot Island in the Great Barrier Reef last week.

"I believed it was a young fish with long fins when I first saw it, but as it got closer, I realized it was a female blanket octopus, and I felt an amazing sensation of delight and excitement," she added.

"I kept hollering 'it's a blanket octopus!' through my snorkel." The excitement in my heart made it impossible to hold my breath as I dived down to film it."

Blanket Octopus Sighting

Blanket octopuses swimming around are an uncommon occurrence. Dr. Julian Finn, a senior curator of marine invertebrates at Museums Victoria, and colleagues observed a live male in the Ribbon Reefs, just north of the Great Barrier Reef, 21 years ago.

They are the "most severe example of sexual size-dimorphism in a non-microscopic animal" in the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research.

Comparing Male and Female Octopus

Males have only been spotted growing to around 2.4cm long. However, females may reach 2 meters in length.

Males also lack the shimmering "blanket" that makes the blanket octopus so appealing.

The display can be shed by females who develop it to evade predators.

The blanket octopus' distinctive habit of carrying blue-bottle stingers for self-defense is likely to have contributed to the enormous disparity between the sexes.

Shackleton believes the octopus has only been seen three times in the region before hers. Because it spends most of its life in the open ocean, it's significantly rarer to see one on a reef.

A Stunning Occurrence

Shackleton said she considers herself fortunate to have been in the water at the perfect time to snap a photograph of the magnificent creature.

This isn't the first time Shackleton has been spotted in such a way. However, she adds the blanket octopus "has got to be one of my all-time favorite reef experiences." She's also seen an ornate eagle ray and a rare melanistic manta ray.

"To see one in person is incredible; I was enthralled by its motions as if it were dancing through the water with a flowing cloak." You can't take your eyes off the brilliant colors; they're stunning.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life, and I don't think I'll ever see anything like it again."