Range: Indo-Pacific marine waters

Habitat: 3 - 86 meters below coastal waters often with soft bottoms

Size: About 3 inches long

Diet: Crustaceans and fish

Threats: Seals, dolphins, and fish

Lifespan: Twenty-four months

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing flamboyant cuttlefish. These cephalopods can be found walking coastal Indo-Pacific waters from 10 to 280 feet (3m to 86m) below the waves. Like all cuttlefish, flamboyant cuttlefish have an internal cuttlebone, which is really a shell and not bone at all, that they use for buoyancy. In the case of the flamboyant cuttlefish, this internal shell is small and doesn't provide much lift. So, instead of swimming through the water like other cuttlefish, flamboyant cuttlefish are the only known cuttlefish to walk along the seafloor. They use their arms to carry them along sandy or muddy bottom habitats in search of prey.

Many cephalopods are nocturnal, but not these showy animals. Flamboyant cuttlefish use structures in their skin, such as chromatophores, to quickly change their color. This can be used to camouflage them from both predator and prey. Flamboyant cuttlefish eat fish and crustaceans. Like other cuttlefish, they have two tentacles that shoot out from their body to grab ahold of prey and draw it to their beak. In turn, they'll put on a display to potential threats to warn of their toxic taste.

Flamboyant cuttlefish are the only known poisonous cuttlefish and their toxicity is described as lethal as that of the blue ringed octopus. Now, to be clear, flamboyant cuttlefish aren't venomous like a blue ringed octopus. If they were, that would mean they could bite a victim and inject venom that way. That's not how they deliver their toxins. Instead, a flamboyant cuttlefish is poisonous meaning they must be eaten to cause harm. Their flashing colors are a warning to predators that they can impart these toxins if consumed. Still, that doesn't stop seals, dolphins, and some large fish from eating them!

In size, these invertebrates reach about three inches (7.6cm) in mantle length. Females are larger than males. Like squids, they have eight arms and two tentacles that are stored within their bodies and mostly used for catching prey. Also like other cephalopods, they don't live very long. Flamboyant cuttlefish live to be about two years old at maximum. They begin life as an egg. These are white at first but become transparent over time to reveal the developing embryos inside. How long they take to develop depends on the surrounding water temperature. Flamboyant cuttlefish eggs are laid in bunches in dens including rock crevices and caves in coral. Males fight each other over these prime breeding locations and the winner takes up residence near a den site. Females are attracted to a male's flashy display and they may mate with multiple partners before laying their eggs. Shortly after, both parents die.

Fascinatingly, cuttlefish can't see the vibrant colors they produce. They are able to see polarized light, however. Flamboyant cuttlefish are also able to produce ink if their flamboyant display doesn't dissuade a predator. Their ink is brown in color and where the tone sepia derives its name!

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