Skip to main content

Cuttlefish

Did you know that a cuttlefish is not actually a fish? It's a mollusk! They are actually more closely related to snails then they are to fish. Like squids, octopi, and nauteluses, the cuttlefish is a cephalopod. Members of class cephalopoda have been dated back 500 million years!

There are currently 120 species of cuttlefish recognized, all of which live in shallow tropical and temperate waters around Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Cuttlefish have a pretty interesting mechanism built in to their bodies: the cuttlebone. Made primarily of aragonite, these structures act as buoyancy mechanisms, enabling the cuttlefish to float at a steady, desirable level. The existence of this bone is also what prevents the cuttlefish from surviving at deep depths, as they will implode when there is too much pressure. Cuttlebones are very rich in calcium, and are often given to caged pets like parakeets and reptiles as supplements.

Cuttlefish have the ability to change their skin color in order to blend in with their surroundings. They do this with help from three special types of skin cells: chromatophores, iridophores, and leucophores, all of which reflect light in different ways to cause the camouflaged effect. With their stealthy camouflage in place they are  able to ambush their prey, which is caught using their eight arms and two tentacles, all of which possess a pad at the end which is covered in powerful suckers.Their diets consist of fish, crustaceans, and even other cuttlefish. They also make use of their color changing skills in mating displays and to hide from predators. Cuttlefish have one of the largest body size to brain ratios among invertebrates, and are considered to be one of the most intelligent of all invertebrates. Their cleverness and thinking skills are pretty astounding when you realize that many of their mollusk relatives don't even possess brains!
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2012 at 5:40 PM

    there's s kid in my class that's crazy about those things.Personally, i think he's a physco.
    Those things look like..........my brother's room when he;s trying to do homework.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more