Thursday 16 October 2014

11 Reasons why Flamboyant Cuttlefish are AMAZING!!

1. They walk along the bottom of the sea, and are the only cuttlefish known to behave in such a way



2. They can go from being the same colour as the sand they walk on to a rippling bright purple, brown and white with yellow edging in a second! This is due to chromatophores - these are pigments cells that can be manipulated to change colour. 




3. They produce an ink to confused predators while they swim away. Hmmm... crafty!


We didn't have a photo of one inking...

4. Their buoyancy is controlled by their inner shell - the cuttlebone. Made of calcium carbonate it is divided into many chambers which the cuttlefish can rapidly fill or empty of gas to control it's bouyancy! 



5. They look really really cute inside their eggs! 


Photo from madasamarinebiologist.com

6. It is the only toxic cuttlefish known to exist


7. Look at how they catch the little fish that they eat! 


8. They only grow up to 8cm long. 



9. They are thought to live between 18 - 24months, but the females die just after spawning. 



Big thanks to Redfish Media for the photo!

10. They can live in waters up to 86m deep! 




11. They have well developed brains that means they can see, smell and sense sound waves. They can use this information to determine what colouration is required for their environment.




They are just generally AMAZING!! 

Here's a link to an amazing video of flamboyant cuttlefish put together by Jon and Deb! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LamVtXlGEOM&feature=youtu.be 

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