Common Name: Banded Drop-arm Octopus
Tree of Life article Of particular note:
Tree of Life article Of particular note:
Ameloctopus is unique in that it does not develop these modifications until fully mature (i.e., its reproductive tract is full of spermatophores). Instead it has a full-length normal arm while the animal is immature, which can be used for feeding and/or discarding at predators. On maturity, the male drops this arm near the base and develops the spoon-like tip directly out of the stump. He is then able to mate using this special short arm to transfer sperm to the female.