Flamboyant cuttlefish

Natural history

This small but feisty cuttlefish ambles along the seafloor on two arms and fins that combine to make leglike appendages. Unlike other cuttlefish species, the flamboyant cuttlefish doesn’t dart away when threatened. Instead they remain stationary, flashing a hypnotic color scheme and pulsing their fins. 

This bold coloration and behavior may be a warning sign to predators. Flamboyant cuttlefishes are highly poisonous according to a toxicology study of their muscle tissue. Research by Mark Norman with the Museum Victoria in Queensland, Australia has shown the toxin to be as lethal as that of blue-ringed octopuses.

Reproduction

The cuttlefish’s flat body allows them to live and hover near the ocean bottom where they finds their favorite food. The outer shell once covered the cuttlefish’s body has since evolved into a porous internal shell called a cuttlebone. The flamboyant cuttlefish has a small, thick, diamond-shaped cuttlebone that extends about two-thirds the length of their body. Due to the small size of their cuttlebone, flamboyant cuttlefish can float only for a short time.

Male flamboyant cuttlefish fight for a choice mating den, though most confrontations end without major injuries. After the males win their territories, female cuttlefish appear at the dens and mate with the resident males.

Egg fertilization is internal in flamboyant cuttlefish mating. Face to face, the cuttlefish embrace and the male uses a special arm to transfer a sperm packet into the female’s mantle cavity. After mating, the female retreats deep within a den, crevice, or rock ledge where she lays her eggs one at a time. She then coats the eggs with a protective sheath and carefully cements them to the roof of the den or crevice. She then leaves the eggs unattended to develop and hatch on their own. The female dies shortly thereafter.

Conservation

Pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction are serious threats to these cephalopods. The disruption of seafloor sediment from human activity like bottom trawling threaten the flamboyant cuttlefish and other reef dwellers.

Cool facts

• Cuttlebone is composed of calcium. This calcareous cuttlebone is often fed to birds to whet their beaks or as calcium supplements.
• Unlike most other cephalopods that are nocturnal, flamboyant cuttlefish are active during the day and can be seen hunting crustaceans and small fishes.
• Flamboyant cuttlefish are the only cuttlefish known to be toxic.