Cuttlefish are not a fish but mollusc of the class Cephalopoda. There are over 100 species found worldwide, with some species regularly seen during Koh Lanta diving.
They have large oval bodies with a frilled fin along the sides and gain speed by squirting water from a tube beneath the head, a type of jet propulsion. When alarmed, they eject a sepia ink to cloud the water and confuse their predators.
All cuttlefish have an unique internal porous structure called the cuttlebone and each species has a different texture, shape and size. They are able to adjust their buoyancy, by altering the amount gas and liquid in their cuttlebone.
Their blood is an unusual shade of blue-green due to a copper protein carrying oxygen instead of the red iron protein. Their blood is pumped by 3 separate hearts. One for each gill and a third pumps blood around their their body.
Cuttlefish have 8 arms lined with suckers surrounding their toxic beaked mouth, but unlike Octopus and Squid they also have 2 tentacles capable of grabbing. Cuttlefish like to dine on small crustacea and are known to occasionally indulge in a little cannibalism.
Cuttlefish are colour blind yet their camouflage is one of the best. It's the Chromatophores in their skin that gives them the amazing ability to match the colour and texture of the substrate, even in total darkness. Their eyes are fully developed before hatching, allowing them to observe their surroundings while still encased in their egg.
During mating season a female may mate with several males, storing the sperm and later deciding which one will fertilise her 200 or so large grape like eggs. The young are miniatures of their parents and will begin hunting immediately.
2 species found on this page.
