When it’s time, the octopus lays upwards of 100,000 eggs, then retrieves the hectocotylus and spreads the sperm out over the egg bundle. The tiny male detaches its hectocotylus-a modified arm that holds its sperm-and gives it to the female, who keeps it in the mantle cavity until needed for fertilization. Mating happens at arm’s length for the four species of these cephalopods. Why the dramatic disparity? It’s not fully known, but it’s thought that males put their energy into looking for females, not growing. That's one of the largest size differences between males and females-called sexual size dimorphism-in the animal kingdom. They can also weigh up to 40,000 times more than males. What’s so startling is the size difference: Males are about the size of a walnut-less than an inch long-but some females can reach a whopping six feet long. Blanket octopus pairs are some of the undersea world’s oddest couples.
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