Cuttlefish

The remarkable camouflage from the cuttlefish

With its rugby-ball shaped body and a set of arms sticking out on one site it is a somewhat strange appearance. Once it starts changing its colour and its pattern the image is complete. Spotting a Cuttlefish is a unique experience.

• How to recognize a cuttlefish?
• Scuba Diving
• The cuttlefish diet
• The cuttlefish reproduction
• Good to know
• Some Science
• More Information

Being very curious, they will come close to divers when you stay very quit. Occasionally they will reach out to touch or “cuddle” you.

How to recognize a Cuttlefish?

The common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species.
The Sepia had an oval shaped body with 8 arms on one site. This is the site of its eyes and mouth. In addition to the 8 arms it has 2 tentacles used for hunting and eating.

Cuttlefish are well known for their unmatched camouflaging abilities. In a split second they can change both their colour and pattern.
As a defence they are a complete set of tools they can use. As masters in camouflage, they can also rely on a siphon which they can use to shoot water out of to propel them away from danger and ink which can distract and disorient a predator as the cuttlefish escapes.

Scuba Diving

Cuttlefish are well known for their unmatched camouflaging abilities. In a split second they can change both their colour and pattern.
As a defense they are a complete set of tools they can use. As masters in camouflage, they can also rely on a siphon which they can use to shoot water out of to propel them away from danger and ink which can distract and disorient a predator as the cuttlefish escapes.

The Cuttlefish diet

During the day, most sepia can be found are fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the sand. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans, small fish and molluscs (clams and snails).

The Cuttlefish reproduction

Cuttlefish reach sexual maturity between 14 and 18 months of age. During breeding season, which occurs during spring and summer in shallow waters, male cuttlefish will display a black and white zebra pattern on their mantle to attract females and females will display a uniform grey colour to indicate they are ready to mate. Cuttlefish are internal fertilizers and the number of fertilized eggs can range from 100 to 1000. After the eggs are fertilized, they will remain in the oviduct of the female for anywhere between 30 and 90 days before they are laid. The eggs attach to seaweed, shells, or other substrates to prevent them from drifting away and have ink deposits on them to aid in camouflage.

Good to know

You probably have seen their cuttlebones without knowing it. Birds kept in captivity often get white shells to sharpen their beak and to provide them with extra calcium. These are the cuttlebones of the sepia.
Their ink is used both the food industry as dye for food products as for the pharmaceutical industry as it is through to have healing capacities (including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity, antimicrobial and potential anticancer properties, and anti-hypertensive and anti-retroviral activity)

Some Science

More Information

We get many questions about what there is to see when you go diving in the south of Gran Canaria. We want to respond to this by creating a number of articles where each highlights a specific species we regularly encounter when diving in the Atlantic. The complete series gives you a good idea of what to find when scuba diving in the blue waters of the south of Gran Canaria. Let’s be clear we are not marine biologists; just a dive centre trying to provide valuable information to our customers.
For the full details of the species we would like to refer to www.Wikipedia.com. Here you’ll find more detail than we go into.