Macro Monday: Things That make Me Go...... Ahhhh......!

So, this week cute and colourful creature is the cuttlefish. These shots were taken at the aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

I hope that you noticed the slightly different wording for the title of this post - this week it is an animal that I personally find particularly endearing, but that some of may not, due to its distinct lack of furriness and a backbone. There are so many reasons why I love these animals, so brace yourselves, I may get a bit carried away with the rest of this post. Oh yes, today you are not getting away with just an adorable picture that you can ahhhhh at. Today, my friends, you are going to be subjected to................

Don’t Bug Me’s Top Ten Reasons for Loving Cuttlefish:

1). They have the most amazing skin that is capable of changing colour and texture in the blink of an eye.  Want to make yourself disappear? No problem, a cuttlefish can change its spots. Want to look like gravel? Want to blend in with that eel grass? Perhaps you fancy a little stripey number today? The cuttlefish’s wardrobe is an endless array of colours and patterns due to the pigment cells in its skin. Different cells contain different pigments and by contracting muscles around each cell, the cuttlefish can control which cells are showing their colours and which aren’t. On top of that, the skin also contains cells that reflect light at different angles, so producing metallic greens, blues, golds and silvers.
                                                                 
 2).You can talk to them. No really, you can. I have spent quite some time, both underwater and at aquariums trying to communicate with these guys. I guess I am not fluent in cuttlefish, since my conversations have been slightly lacking, but I do remember one dive in Indonesia where a cuttlefish and I were head to head for quite some time. They communicate via their skin and can tell another cuttlefish how they are feeling by changing the colour and texture of their skin. They also talk to each other using their tentacles, raising some of them up above their heads and waving them around. Obviously, I can’t change the colour of my skin, and I don’t have tentacles, but I have tried using my fingers instead. The cuttlefish seem rather bemused by my attempts at talking to them. People walking by just gave me a very wide berth.......

3). Got that loving feeling........? Cuttlefish are quite the lovers. The males wooo their partners with calm soothing colours, the colours of luv. However, if other males come along, they turn all macho and try to outdo each other with bold displays of zebra stripes and flashing colours. They are so good at controlling their skin patterns that they can actually woo a female on side while telling another male to “back off, she’s mine!” on the other side.

4). Deception and intrigue...... Not getting any of the action? Too small and puny to compete with all those big macho males? Fed up with getting gravel kicked in your face? No problem, just try a little cross dressing to slip under the radar. Sneak in, do the deed and get out fast. Yep, if you can’t be arsed with all the posturing and fighting, why not try a different strategy? Try pretending you are a female - no male is going to turn you away. Then, while he is busy fighting with other males, you do a quick costume change, have you wicked way with the waiting female and then bugger off out of there, leaving the big lug none-the –wiser.

5). They are smarter than your average cat – which is not saying much if you are comparing them to Tess, but it does say average....... Cuttlefish actually have one of the largest brains to body size of all invertebrates and rank up there with one of my other all time favourites, the octopus, in terms of intelligence. Given all the above, they really do have to have large brains to cope with all that.........

6). The eyes have it........ cuttlefish have W shaped eyes that are one of the most developed in the animal kingdom. Again, given all the visual signals that they use, they need a good eye.

7). They have their uses. As with other cephalopods, cuttlefish produce ink. For them, it is used to confuse and distract predators, acting as a smokescreen to shield their escape. In some cases, the ink is mixed with mucus that, when released, actually takes on a globular shape, mimicking the cuttlefish. The dim witted predator then goes for the ink blob whilst the sneaky little cephalopod makes its getaway. For the ancient Greeks, the brown pigment was very useful for writing and drawing and was given the name sepia.

8). They have blue blood. I am not talking royalty here; they really do have blue blood. This is because the oxygen carrying protein in their blood, haemocyanin, contains copper, rather than the more normal iron found in haemoglobin. Since haemocyanin carries much less oxygen than haemoglobin, they need three hearts to pump it rapidly around the body. It also means that they get tired very quickly and cannot maintain any physically demanding activity for too long. This is a very good thing when you are involved with in a tug of war with an 80lb octopus. Trust me, I know.......

9). They are just so flamboyant. Look at this one – it is even called Pfeffer’s flamboyant cuttlefish. It is the smallest cuttlefish in the world, only reaching 6cm in length. It only has a very small cuttlebone, which in other cuttlefish help with buoyancy. This means that this little fella is too heavy to swim around much, so it likes to “walk” along the ocean floor.  While hunting, it can mimic the silty sea bed, but if threatened in any way, it will display bright red colours and start waving its arms, tipped in yellow above its head. This is a warning “Whatever you do, don’t eat me. I taste horrible and you might die.”  For the flamboyant cuttlefish is poisonous, making a toxin unknown in any other animal.

10). The name, cuttlefish. Did you know that it is derived from the Norwegian word koddi, which means testicle? How can you not love an animal whose name means “testicle pouch”?!?

For more Macro Monday go here.

For more Faces of the Week go here.

Please note - the photo of the flamboyant cuttlefish is not mine. Unfortunately I did not see one when I was diving in Indonesia. Perhaps next time..........