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Cuttlefish are some of the craftiest hunters in the seas. These cephalopods, which are related to squid, use intricate camouflage to sneak up on prey. Cuttlefish also have slick defenses that allow them to hide themselves, or speed away from enemies.

Stickers: Cuttlefish attack in a flash, grabbing prey with a pair of long feeding tentacles, which are covered with sticky suckers on their fleshy tips. Eight smaller arms, also lined with suckers, pull victims toward the creature's mouth.

Ink Jet: These creatures use a small tube beneath their heads to suck in water and shoot it back out; this gives them a quick backward burst of speed when they need to escape from danger. They can also squirt ink from this opening to confuse enemies.

Quick Change Artist[]

Cuttlefish Back Image

A cuttlefish stays well-hidden by changing the color and texture of its skin as it cruises for food.

Cuttlefish have chromatophores in their skin that help them change their appearance drastically. These creatures can instantly alter the color of their skin, texture themselves with spots, blotches and stripes, and raise small bumps on their flesh. Cuttlefish can change their looks in a split second either to communicate with each other or to blend in with their surroundings so they can creep up on prey and also hide from enemies.

Ocean Glider: Cuttlefish generally stay in shallow waters. By rippling the single fin that encircles their bodies, they swim close to the seabed in search of prey.

Egg Drop: When some species of cuttlefish lay their eggs, they simply drop them in the water. Females cover them in ink so the eggs will look like pebbles instead of food.

'Cuttle' Up[]

  1. Cruising along the bottom of the ocean floor, a cuttlefish spots a few fish in the distance with its keen eyesight, then inches closer to its prey.
  2. The cuttlefish camouflages itself with its surroundings and draws close to one of the fish. When in range, the predator shoots out its feeding tentacles to grab its victim.
  3. One snap of the hunter's beak-like jaws impales the fish. Some species inject venom with their bite to paralyze victims and end their struggles.

Trivia[]

  • The cuttlefish is one of many creatures listed as studied by Aristotle, along with the Woodlouse Spider, Sea Urchins, and False Scorpions.
  • The cuttlefish is mentioned on a few other cards:
    • The cuttlefish is mentioned and shown via a photograph as a modern ancestor of the Giant Orthocone on the back of its knowledge card.
    • It is also mentioned on the Giant Squid knowledge card, as the name of the fictional sea creature in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
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