This versatile fish can change its appearance at will, mimicking floating vegetation or rocks on the seafloor.
Yet when danger looms. the animal can jet away at great speeds, shooting out a smoke screen.
of ink or using its ink to create decoys of itself
These animals – like their octopus cousins – are famous for their ability.
to change colors and in some cases textures to mimic their environments. despite being completely colorblind.
Their camouflage abilities are made possible by chromatophores.
pigmented skin cells and muscles that contract and expand to darken the skin.
They have beaked mouths beneath the eight suckered tentacles that hang from their face. but no teeth.
Their brain-to-body ratio is one of the largest of any invertebrate. larger than that of most species of octopus.
They are well-adapted to quickly process and respond to environmental conditions.
including sight, sound, and chemical changes in the water.
Cuttlefish diets vary depending on where in the ocean they live.
but they commonly feed on mollusks, shellfish, fish, octopus, worms, and even other cuttlefish.
Their natural predators include dolphins, sharks, large fish, seals, seabirds, and other cuttlefish.
Cuttlefish live in tropical and temperate latitudes in the ocean.
and generally live in shallower waters near reefs, seagrass beds. and other productive habitats but not always.
Some cuttlefish species can live at depths of nearly 2,000 feet!
They are common in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the North and Baltic seas, and near northwestern Africa.
Within the National Marine Sanctuary System.
you are most likely to see a cuttlefish in one of the east coast sanctuaries like Stellwagen Bank.
Gray’s Reef, and Florida Keys national marine sanctuaries.
Cuttlefish live short lives, with a maximum life span of one or two years depending on the species.
They begin their lives as one of several hundred eggs a female will lay during the spring months.
Eggs that aren’t swept away by the current or eaten by another animal hatch about 60 days after they are laid.
Upon hatching, cuttlefish are miniature versions of their adult form at lengths of only a few millimeters.
During their juvenile phase, they eat small crustaceans.
and plankton, growing rapidly and reaching their full size.
and sexual maturity as early as their first winter, with females maturing later than males.
Cuttlefish have large, W-shaped pupils, eight arms.
and two tentacles furnished with denticulated suckers, with which they secure their prey.
They generally range in size from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in).
with the largest species, Sepia apama, reaching 50 cm (20 in) in mantle length and over 10.5 kg (23 lb) in mass.
The cuttlefish’s eyes are thought to be fully developed before birth.
and they start observing their surroundings while still in the egg.
In consequence, they may prefer to hunt the prey they saw before hatching.
