Cuttlefish
Fascinating cuttlefish
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Despite their common name, cuttlefish are not fish
but mollusks.
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The eye of the cuttlefish, like that of the squid, has a
very similar design to our own.
Cuttlefish blood looks blue-green because it uses
the pigment hemocyanin to carry oxygen.
Cuttlefish fish have the remarkable ability to rapidly
alter their skin color at will.
Cuttlefish eat small molluscs, crabs, shrimp, fish
and other cuttlefish.
The cuttlefish has tentacles along with a mantle that
had a calcium based ‘cuttlebone’ which forms the
shape of the body.
They have eight arms and two tentacles, which
consist of denticulated suckers. Between the
tentacles, one can find a beak-like mouth.
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The eye of the cuttlefish
Distinguishing features
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The cuttlefish is so called because they have a bone in the middle of their bodies,
known as a cuttlebone, filled with gas, which is used as a buoyancy control device.
Averaging about 30cm in length (giant cuttlefish can grow up to 100cm), they have
eight arms and two prehensile (capable of grasping) tentacles around their parrot-like
beak.
Their eyes are remarkably similar in construction to human eyes and there is an
unmistakable feeling that you are dealing with a creature of intelligence when you find
yourself in a staring contest with a cuttlefish
Mating cuttlefish align their bodies head to head so the male can transfer a sealed
package of sperm into a pouch beneath the female's mouth. The female then scurries
off to a quiet place where she draws eggs from her cavity and passes them over the
sperm, thereby fertilizing them.
Diving with cuttlefish
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Unlike their squid and octopus cousins,
baby cuttlefish are already highly
developed and independent straight
hatching.
The main predators of cuttlefish are
sharks, fish and other cuttlefish.
Dolphins also attack cuttlefish but
strangely eat only the heads.
Cuttlefish are widely distributed
according to species. For example the
European common cuttlefish is found all
along the eastern Atlantic from
Scandinavia to South Africa and the
Mediterranean. Most other species, such
as the flamboyant cuttlefish, are found in
Asian waters and in Australasia. They are
not found in American waters.
Cuttlefish reproduction
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Adult cuttlefish are hard to sex and the only 100% reliable way to sex a live one is to see it
mating or laying eggs.
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However, a male cuttlefish might aggressively display to a reflection of itself in a mirror.
The aggressive display of cuttlefish consists of a vivid zebra stripped pattern, bulging
eyes, and often lining up parallel to its reflection.
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Since sexing techniques are far from reliable, the best way to get mated cuttlefish is to
raise a group together in a large aquarium. They can tell each others sex by sight and will
mate readily when they are old enough to do so.
Pictures