Dr. Roger Hanlon who studies cephalopod camouflage at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA describes the mesmerizing "passing cloud" pattern displayed by the male Giant Australian cuttlefish.
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[taxonomy:binomial=Sepia apama]
This species differs from the giant cuttle and mourning cuttle in it's reddish blotched colouration (although this one changed colour several times whilst being photographed), relatively round body and eyes with a smooth socket and yellow edge. The mourning cuttle has a long mantle that extends between the eyes, and the giant cuttle has skin flaps on it's body and behind the eyes.
Summary[edit] Description: English: Specimen of Sepia lycidas in National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan 中文:國立自然科學博物館藏唇瓣烏賊(擬目烏賊)標本. Date: 19 April 2014. Source: Own work. Author: SSR2000.
The mating rituals of Pharaoh cuttlefish. See them mating, males guarding the females against rival males, and a female depositing her eggs inside the rock. Filmed in Salalah, Oman.
Please feel free to comment, and contact salalah@subaqua-divecenter.com for diving in Salalah.
[taxonomy:binomial=Sepia pharaonis]
[taxonomy:family=Sepiidae]
[taxonomy:common=Pharaoh cuttlefish]
Cuttlefish, like their cousin the octopus, have eight arms. Cuttlefish differ however in that they have in internal calcareous "shell" that is porous; they use this for buoyancy control in order to hover level. Their movement is largely controlled by fluttering fins along the side of their body. They also have two specialised tentacles; they can shoot them out to grasp their prey.