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ChristopherViapiano
MellissaTillack
MarineBiology
20april,2016

SepiaApama
TheGiantAustralianCuttlefish

TheGiantAustralianCuttlefishisamemberoftheorderSepiida.Theybelongtothe
classCephalopoda,whichalsoincludessquid,octopodes,andnautiluses.Despitetheirname,
cuttlefisharenotfishbutmolluscs.

CharacteristicsofaCuttlefish

ThegiantAustraliancuttlefishistheworld'slargestspeciesofcuttlefish
growingto50
cminmantlelengthandover10.5kg(23lb)inweight.CharacteristicsoftheGiantAustralian
CuttlefisharelargeeyeswithWshapedpupils,eightarms,andtwotentaclesequippedwith
denticulatedsuckers,usedtocatchandsecureprey.Theyalsohaveaninksac,likesquidand
octopusestohelpevadepredators.ResearchhasindicatedthatCuttlefishingeneralarethought
tobeamongstthemostintelligentinvertebrates,Cuttlefishalsohaveoneofthelargest
braintobodysizeratiosofallinvertebrates.AnotherinterestingfactisthatCuttlefishhave3
heartstwobranchialheartspumpbloodtothecuttlefish'spairofgills(oneheartforeach),and
thethirdpumpsbloodaroundtherestofthebody.Cuttlefishalsohaveauniqueinternalshell,
thecuttlebone,itisachambered,gasfilledshellusedforbuoyancycontrol.Unfortunatelythe
GiantAustralianCuttlefishdonotlivethatlong,theirlifespanaveragesbetween24yearslong.

CamouflageandColoration
SomeofthemoreamazingfeaturesoftheGiantAustralianCuttlefish(andallother
Cuttlefishinthisregard)istheirremarkableabilitytorapidlyaltertheirskincoloratwill.
Cuttlefishchangecolorandpatterntheshapeoftheskintocommunicatetoothercuttlefish,to
camouflagethemselves,andasadeimaticdisplaytowarnoffpotentialpredators.Thisworks
Primarilybygroupsofred,yellow,brown,andblackpigmentedchromatophoresabovealayer
ofreflectiveiridophoresandleucophores,withupto200ofthesespecializedpigmentcellsper
squaremillimeter.Yellowchromatophoresareclosesttothesurfaceoftheskin,redandorange
arebelow,andbrownorblackarejustabovetheiridophorelayer.Thesecellsexpandwhenthe
cuttlefishchangescolor.
Animagerepresentingthewaychromatophoreswork

Credit:LydiaMathger,MarineBiologicalLaboratory

Reproduction
Breedingtakesplacewiththestartofthesouthernwinter.Malessetouttodazzlethe
femalesbyadoptingrapidlychangingbrightcoloursandstrikingpatterns.
Bannerlikewebs
alongthemarginsoftheirarmsareflaredtomakemalesappearlargertobothattractfemalesand
tointimidateothermales.Smallermaleswillcopythecolorsoffemalesandtheirbehaviorto
sneakpastthelargermalesforachancetomatewiththefemales.Theanimalswillthencome
facetofacewitheachother,themalewill
thenuseaspecializedtentacletoinsertspermsacsinto
anopeningnearthefemale'smouth.Themalethenguardsthefemaleuntilshelaystheeggsa
fewhourslater.Femalesthenattachtheireggstotheundersideofrocksincavesorcrevices
wheretheywillhatchwithinthreetofivemonths.TypicallyCuttlefishdieshortlyafterbreeding.
ApictureoftwoCuttlefish

inthemating
process

Habitat
Cuttlefishinhabittropical/temperateoceanwaters,theyaremostlyshallowwater
animals.
TheyaretotallyabsentfromtheAmericas,butpresentalongthecoastsofEastandSouthAsia,
WesternEurope,andtheMediterranean,aswellasthecoastsofAfricaandAustralia.
TheGiantAustralianCuttlefishspecificallylivesinthesoutherncoastofAustralia,onrocky
reefs,seagrassbeds,andsandandmudseafloortoadepthof100m.TheprefereddietofThe
GiantAustralianCuttlefishinitshabitatisfish,crab,shrimpandothercrustaceans.TheGiant
AustralianCuttlefishiseatenbydolphinsandseals,andisalsohunted(insmallamounts)by
humans.Discoveredbydiversinthelate1990s,theupperSpencerGulfpopulationistheworld's
onlyknownmasscuttlefishspawningaggregationwithhundredsofthousandsofGiant
AustralianCuttlefish

congregatingonsubtidalreefs

TheregionofAustralia'scoasttheanimalresidesin

HumanImpactonthespecies
TheGiantAustralianCuttlefishhasbeenassessedasNearThreatened.Intensefishingin
onelocation(theupperSpencerGulfpopulation)hasresultedinmassivelocalpopulation
declines.Althoughthishashadlimitedimpactacrossthespeciesrange.HoweverTheupper
SpencerGulfpopulationiscurrentlyfacingacrisis,Inthemidtolate90stheanimalwas
overfishedbyhumans,thankfullytheAustraliangovernmentputahalttofishingin1998over
largepartsofthegulf.AlthoughthepopulationoftheCuttlefishlivinginthebaytooktimeto
slowlyrecover.Itwasrecordedthatthepopulationduring2011through2013droppedtoanall
timelow,around14,000individuals.Thankfullythegulfspopulationstartedrecoveringin2014
andasof2015hasapopulationofabout130,000,althoughtheyhaveyetnotreturnedto
prefishinglevels.Althoughnearbydesalinationplant,andminesaredepositingharmful
materialstothegulfthismayresultinanotherdropoftheSpencerGulfpopulationinthefuture
iftheAustraliangovernmentdoesnotintervene.
AcuttlefishexpresseshisconcernartworkbyHeatherLeMay

VideoshowingtheCuttlefishsamazingcolorationinaction.


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VideoshowingaCuttlefishparalyzingitspreythroughflashingcoloursandtheneatingit


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PictureShowingthecamouflageabilityofaGiantAustralianCuttlefish


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Ayoung
GiantAustraliancuttlefish,justaboutthecutestthingever


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WorksCited
TheUniversityofAdelaide:MarineBiologyCuttlefish(August,2011)
http://www.marinebiology.adelaide.edu.au/projects/cuttlefish.html

Barratt,I.&Allcock,L.2012.
Sepiaapama
.TheIUCNRedListofThreatened
Species2012:
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20121.RLTS.T162627A931625.en
.

AustralianGovernmentDepartmentoftheEnvironment:
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgibin/speciesbank/sbanktreatment2.pl?id=69365

WildscreenArkive:
http://www.arkive.org/giantaustraliancuttlefish/sepiaapama/imageG68575.html

DeniseChow:ColorChanging'SeaChameleons'CouldInspireNewMilitaryCamouflage
http://www.livescience.com/42971cuttlefishmilitarycamouflage.html