#cuttlefish facts

We read your post about your latest hyperfixation and thought we would tell you one of our kintypes

Can you talk a bit about cuttlefish we feel really connected to them but sadly we dont know much about them so yeah

Thanks mootie

hihi!! cuttlefish kin?!?! That is so so cool!!

[btw guys a went back to all my animal fact posts and added a "mating" section and it will be in all animal fact posts now]

INFORMATION ABOUT: CUTTLEFISH

lifespan- 1 - 2 years

mating- I don't know how to rewrite this so national geographic said: "Mating takes place with the cuttlefish linking their eight arms and two tentacles for head-to-head contact, with the males slipping their sperm packages into the female’s mouth and fertilizing her eggs." Female Cuttlefish select multiple males, increasing genetic diversity in their offspring. Cuttlefish reproduce in the spring, each female laying hundreds of eggs. After laying eggs, the female dies.

diet in the wild- Crustaceans [crabs, shrimp, lobster]

hunting- Cuttlefish use their tentacles to catch and secure their prey.

habitat- shallow tropical or temperate coastal waters, shallow reefs, channels, and deeper waters up to 650 ft.

behavior/communication- cuttlefish use their colors and patterns to communicate with one another. They use different colors to express things like searching for a mate, being territorial, being calm, being aggressive, and more.

evolution- cuttlefish are derived from a belemnite-like ancestor. Cuttlefish appeared in the Miocene Epoch and first appeared about 23 million years ago.

fun facts:

Male cuttlefish can disguise themselves as females.

Cuttlefish were around before the first shark or fish ever evolved.

They mimic objects around them.

They have 3 hearts.

cuttlefish can change colors to match their surroundings

they know how to count

Cuttlefish can change texture

vv other animal fact posts vv

Cuttlefish have three hearts, green-blue blood and horizontal vision that allows them to see behind them

Cuttlefish have not one, not two, but three hearts! Two hearts are used to pump blood to the cuttlefish's large gills, and the third heart is used to circulate oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. Speaking of cuttlefish blood, even that's interesting. According to New World Encyclopedia, "The blood of a cuttlefish is an unusual shade of green-blue because it uses the copper-containing protein hemocyanin to carry oxygen instead of the red iron-containing protein hemoglobin that is found in mammals."

In an effort to hide from predators, cuttlefish can mimic the shape and texture of objects around them. Their close relative, the octopus, is also able to do this. Cuttlefish accomplish this texture change by extending or retracting tiny bumps called papillae located across their bodies, and thus better match sand, bumpy rocks or other surfaces where they're hiding.

Cuttlefish males disguise themselves as females to get past competing males to mate with a female. According to Mental Floss, to woo a female without attracting competing males, "wily male cuttlefish employ some tricky gender-bending camouflage. With one half of their body they put on a colorful display for the female's benefit. With the other half, they disguise themselves as another female, mimicking the muted tones of the female they're courting so as not to attract the attention of nearby males." But that's not all they'll do. If a male isn't as big and tough as other males vying to mate with a female, then he'll rely on cunning and stealth instead. A male will mute his colors, position his body to look like a female carrying eggs, and use this disguise to sneak past competing males for his opportunity with the female.

Cuttlefish have truly impressive vision, including the ability to see what's behind them — completely. According to PBS, "It can see well in low light and can also detect polarized light, enhancing its perception of contrast. While we humans reshape our lenses in order to focus on specific objects, the cuttlefish moves its lenses by reshaping its entire eye. Also, the cuttlefish's eyes are very large in proportion to its body and may increase image magnification upon the retina, while the distinct 'W'-shaped pupil helps control the intensity of light entering the eye.”

Cuttlefish count better than most human babies. A study out of the Royal Society found that 1-month-old cuttlefish could easily tell the difference between a box with four shrimp and a box with five shrimp. By contrast, 1-year-old human babies can only determine a difference between piles of one and two and piles of two and three, but no higher than that. When the boxes contained more shrimp, the cuttlefish took longer to decide which box to eat from, and researchers took this as a sign that the cuttlefish were physically counting the number of shrimp before making their decisions.

If you have ever dived and found Cuttlefish during their mating rituals, you will know how weird and wonderful these creatures are. If you haven’t seen this, then book your dive trip with Scubafish here and experience this alien like extravaganza!

  Cuttlefish facts

Cuttlefish are actually not fish but molluscs belonging to the order Sepiida and class Cephalopoda, which also includes squid,…