Rocky Hawn says many of the regulars at the pier were left scratching their heads when the animal was pulled from the water. Most had no idea what to make of the octopus with peculiar webbing in-between four of its arms.
“All the old timers on the aku boat said that’s very unusual,” Hawn told Khon2. “I was happy I caught something like that.”
After sending a photo of the octopus to various experts on Oahu, Waikiki Aquarium Director Andrew Rossiter tentatively identified the creature as a Tremoctopus gracilis, better known as a blanket octopus. The cephalopod is a free swimming octopus that lives near the surface or mid-waters of subtropical and tropical oceans.
“It is a real oddity,” Rossiter wrote in an e-mail. “If this identification is correct, then it is a female.”
The blanket octopus is known for its extreme degree of sexual dimorphism. Males are less than a half inch long but females can reach more than six feet in length. The animal is also known for its unusual defense mechanism – it rips the tentacles off jellyfish or Portuguese Man-O-War to use as a weapon against predators.
Rocky’s family say they were awestruck when he hooked the octopus with a rod and reel just before 7 p.m. Wednesday evening.
“I have never seen webbing like that,” said Lori Williams, Rocky’s aunt.
The boy’s grandfather was even more impressed. Tommy Hawn is an experienced diver who has been in and around the water for decades and never came across such a strange looking animal.
“He brought it home and showed us,” said the older Hawn. “It was amazing.”
According to Jill Radke, spokeswoman for Bishop Museum in Honolulu, there are only two other Tremoctopus specimens at the institution. One of the octopuses was caught by divers off Baldwin Beach Park on Maui in July of 2003. The other was found at Hanauma Bay on Oahu about a month later.
Rocky plans on donating his catch to interested researchers at the University of Hawaii and the creature may likely end up as the third Tremoctopus specimen at Bishop Museum.
The boy’s father says Rocky is bright, curious and good with his hands. Kawai Hawn said if anyone was going to catch the octopus, it was Rocky.
“That’s Rocky,” he said with a smile. “He always gets himself into all kinds of positive things.”
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See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
