---
title: "What the sources say about the Common Cuttlefish | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "70 claims from the Common Cuttlefish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Common Cuttlefish (*Sepia officinalis*)

> 70 claims from the Common Cuttlefish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Common Cuttlefish](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-cuttlefish/)

## Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). The Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN).

https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1098

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| seagrass beds | a preference for sandy substratum (for hiding) and seagrass beds |
| continental shelves | prefers moderately warm, shallow coastal waters as well as continental shelves |
| Shallow coastal seas | prefers moderately warm, shallow coastal waters as well as continental shelves (note: field says 'coastal seas', source says 'coastal waters'; synonymous) |
| eastern Atlantic | Recorded from the eastern Atlantic |
| Mediterranean | from the Baltic and North Sea to South Africa and in the Mediterranean |
| Crabs | Typically feeds on Brachyuran crabs |
| bottom-dwelling fish | demersal fish (gobiids and syngnathids) (note: demersal means bottom-dwelling) |
| amphipods, which are shrimp-like crustaceans | with minor amounts of amphipods (note: 'shrimp-like crustaceans' glosses amphipods for the reader; the source names amphipods) |
| grows a mantle up to 45 centimeters long | It has a mantle length of up to 45 cm. |
| the largest individual to be recorded reached 60 centimeters | The largest individual to be recorded reached 60 cm in length (note: MarLIN measures size as dorsal mantle length; ADW states the same 60 cm record) |
| a maximum of two years is common | A maximum lifespan of two years is common with the exception of some individuals reaching four years of age in culture (Bettencourt & Guerra, 1999). |
| it is said to carry one of the largest brain-to-body ratios of any invertebrate | Cuttlefish is also said to have one of the largest brain-to-body ratios of any invertebrate. |
| eight arms | Sepia officinalis has eight arms and two elongated tentacles |
| Its saliva contains cephalotoxin, which induces paralysis and immobilizes prey | Saliva contains cephalotoxin which induces paralysis and immobilizes prey. |
| It typically feeds on crabs and bottom-dwelling fish like gobies, with minor amounts of amphipods | Typically feeds on Brachyuran crabs and demersal fish (gobiids and syngnathids), with minor amounts of amphipods and little cannibalism. (note: demersal = bottom-dwelling, gobiids = gobies) |
| a porous internal shell | The internal cuttlebone is incredibly porous |
| The cuttlefish alters its buoyancy by controlling how much liquid moves into and out of it | Sepia officinalis can also alter their buoyancy by controlling how much liquid is placed into or out of the cuttlebone (Denton & Gilpin-Brown, 1961). |
| Its recorded depth range runs from the surface to about 200 meters | Depth range 0-200 m |
| below 200 meters the ambient water pressure is enough to implode the shell | Below 200 m, the ambient pressure of the water is enough to implode the inner shell (Ward & Boletzky, 1984). |
| Mate choice in female common cuttlefish appears to be a preference, not for dominance, but for the absence of zebra banding | Mate choice occurs in female Sepia officinalis and appears to be a preference, not for dominance, but for the absence of zebra banding. |
| possibly because banding signals aggression in a male | This might be because zebra branding infers aggression in the male (Boal, 1997). (note: source spells it 'zebra branding', evidently a typo for 'banding'; meaning preserved) |
| the species' recorded depth range runs from the surface to about 200 meters | Depth range 0-200 m |
| below that depth the surrounding water pressure is enough to implode the shell | Below 200 m, the ambient pressure of the water is enough to implode the inner shell (Ward & Boletzky, 1984). |

## Sepia officinalis. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sepia_officinalis/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| worms | nemertean worms, polychaetes |
| gastropods like sea snails | has also been known to eat gastropods (note: 'like sea snails' is an example of a marine gastropod, added as a gloss; the source names gastropods) |
| weighs 2 kilograms in subtropical areas and 4 kilograms in temperate ones | Weights are between 2 kg (subtropic areas) and 4 kg (temperate areas). |
| it typically breeds only once | European cuttlefish typically breed only once in their lifetime. |
| after spawning both males and females die | after spawning both male and females die |
| The common cuttlefish usually spends the daytime hidden in sand | Sepia officinalis commonly spends the daytime hidden in sand. (note: page says 'usually', source says 'commonly'; synonymous) |
| is active at night | is active at night and spends most of its time on the sea floor |
| it strikes with two long feeding tentacles tipped in sucker-lined clubs | shoot out its two longer tentacles, grab the prey using the suckers on the tentacular clubs at the tips of the tentacles |
| uses its eight arms to capture and maneuver the prey while it tears at it with its radula and beak | use its arms to capture and maneuver the prey while it tears at the prey with its radula and beak |
| has also been known to eat gastropods like sea snails, worms and even other cuttlefish | has also been known to eat gastropods, nemertean worms, polychaetes and even other cuttlefish (note: 'like sea snails' is a gloss on gastropods) |
| prey for large fish, seals, sharks and dolphins | Sepia officinalis is prey for large fish, seals, sharks, dolphins and whales. |
| avoids being eaten by camouflaging with its surroundings and disorienting predators by releasing ink | The cuttlefish avoids predation by camouflaging with its environment, disorienting predators by releasing ink when threatened |
| dangerLevel: Low | There are no known adverse effects of Sepia officinalis on humans. (note: Low is 'effectively harmless to people'. MarLIN's 'Is the species harmful? Yes' refers to cephalotoxin in the saliva that immobilizes prey; neither MarLIN nor ADW describes injury to a person. Was Medium.) |
| weightKg: 3 | Weights are between 2 kg (subtropic areas) and 4 kg (temperate areas). (note: Midpoint of ADW's 2 to 4 kg. Recorded because the engine's name guess made the cuttlefish Medium, and 3 kg is Light.) |

## Barratt & Allcock (2012). Sepia officinalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T162664A939991.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2012-1.rlts.t162664a939991.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Allen et al. (2013). Cuttlefish skin papilla morphology suggests a muscular hydrostatic function for rapid changeability. Journal of Morphology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.20121

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| turns its skin from smooth to spiked in moments | dramatically and quickly change their skin from smooth and flat to rugose and three-dimensional |
| shape-shifting papillae muscles | papillae are composed of an extensive network of dermal erector muscles |
| Cuttlefish and their bottom-dwelling octopus relatives share a capability unique in the animal kingdom | Benthic octopuses and cuttlefish possess the capability, unique in the animal kingdom, to dramatically and quickly change their skin |
| dramatically and quickly changing their skin from smooth and flat to rugose and three-dimensional | dramatically and quickly change their skin from smooth and flat to rugose and three-dimensional |
| rings of muscle at the base that contract and push the overlying skin upward | concentric circular dermal erector muscles near the papilla's base contract and push the overlying tissue upward and away from the mantle surface |
| muscles running across each papilla pull its edges toward the center to sculpt the shape | horizontally arranged dermal erector muscles pull the papilla's perimeter toward its center and determine its shape |
| a separate meshwork of thin muscles is thought to pull it flat again | Numerous, thin subepidermal muscles form a meshwork between the chromatophore layer and the epidermis and putatively provide active papillary retraction |
| The skin layer that contains the pigmented chromatophores handles color | the skin layer that contains the pigmented chromatophores |
| papillae can dramatically and quickly change the skin from smooth and flat to rugose and three-dimensional | dramatically and quickly change their skin from smooth and flat to rugose and three-dimensional |
| an ability cuttlefish and their octopus relatives share uniquely in the animal kingdom | Benthic octopuses and cuttlefish possess the capability, unique in the animal kingdom |
| Rings of muscle at each papilla's base contract and push the overlying skin upward | concentric circular dermal erector muscles near the papilla's base contract and push the overlying tissue upward |
| muscles running across it pull the edges toward the center to shape it | horizontally arranged dermal erector muscles pull the papilla's perimeter toward its center and determine its shape |
| rings of muscle at the base of each papilla contract and push the skin up | concentric circular dermal erector muscles near the papilla's base contract and push the overlying tissue upward (note: vibe.reason) |
| from smooth and flat to three-dimensional in moments | dramatically and quickly change their skin from smooth and flat to rugose and three-dimensional (note: vibe.reason) |

## Osorio et al. (2022). Multi-level control of adaptive camouflage by European cuttlefish. Current Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.030

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| about 30 skin pattern components | control the expression of about 30 pattern components to produce a range of body patterns |
| about 30 separate skin pattern components | control the expression of about 30 pattern components to produce a range of body patterns |
| if each one worked on its own, researchers calculate the cuttlefish could produce at least a billion different combinations | If each component were under independent control, cuttlefish could produce at least 2 30 patterns (note: 2^30 = 1,073,741,824, which is over a billion; the source's own conditional ('if each component were under independent control ... could produce') is preserved rather than asserted as fact) |
| drawing on about 30 pattern components | control the expression of about 30 pattern components to produce a range of body patterns (note: vibe.reason) |

## Mäthger, Barbosa, Miner & Hanlon (2006). Color blindness and contrast perception in cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) determined by a visual sensorimotor assay. Vision Research.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2005.09.035

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| color-blind | we show clearly that cuttlefish must be color blind |
| A cuttlefish's eye runs on a sole visual pigment | maximum absorption wavelength of S. officinalis' sole visual pigment, 492 nm |
| a 2006 study put that to the test | we show clearly that cuttlefish must be color blind (note: 2006 is the reference's publication year (see reference metadata), not part of this quote) |
| shown checkerboards pairing a green square against grey squares matched for brightness | 16 grey shades (from white to black) were paired with one green shade (matched to the maximum absorption wavelength of S. officinalis' sole visual pigment, 492 nm), assuming that one of the grey shades would give a similar achromatic signal to the tested green |
| the cuttlefish showed no disruptive camouflage pattern on the matched pair, suggesting the board looked like a uniform background to its eyes | they showed non-disruptive coloration on the checkerboards whose color intensities were matched to the Sepia visual system, suggesting that the substrates appeared to their eyes as uniform backgrounds |
| Researchers concluded cuttlefish must be color blind | we show clearly that cuttlefish must be color blind |
| they can still perceive objects that differ in contrast by approximately 15 percent | cuttlefish are able to perceive objects in their background that differ in contrast by approximately 15% |
| Its eye runs on a sole visual pigment | maximum absorption wavelength of S. officinalis' sole visual pigment, 492 nm |
| a 2006 study testing cuttlefish on checkerboards that paired a green square against grey squares matched for brightness | 16 grey shades (from white to black) were paired with one green shade (matched to the maximum absorption wavelength of S. officinalis' sole visual pigment, 492 nm) (note: 2006 is the reference's publication year (see reference metadata), not part of this quote) |
| found no disruptive camouflage response on the matched pair, as if the board were a uniform background | they showed non-disruptive coloration on the checkerboards whose color intensities were matched to the Sepia visual system, suggesting that the substrates appeared to their eyes as uniform backgrounds |

## Shashar et al. (2000). Cuttlefish use polarization sensitivity in predation on silvery fish. Vision Research.

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0042-6989(99)00158-3

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| reads polarized light | Cuttlefish preyed preferably on fish with normal polarization reflection over fish that did not reflect linearly polarized light |
| polarized vision that may help it see through other animals' camouflage | we suggest that polarization vision is used to break the countershading camouflage of light-reflecting silvery fish |
| cuttlefish preyed preferably on fish with normal polarization reflection over fish that did not reflect linearly polarized light | Cuttlefish preyed preferably on fish with normal polarization reflection over fish that did not reflect linearly polarized light |
| which researchers suggest shows the cuttlefish uses that reflection to break through the mirror-like camouflage of silvery prey | we suggest that polarization vision is used to break the countershading camouflage of light-reflecting silvery fish |