Australian Giant Cuttlefish
Ascarosepion apama
Stumpy-spined Cuttlefish
Ascarosepion bandense
About
The stumpy-spined cuttlefish is a small, quick-changing master of disguise that lives on the seabed close to sea cucumbers and sea stars. Watch it for a moment and its skin pattern can shift completely in less than a second.
Also known as: stumpy cuttlefish, dwarf cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis
How to tell it apart
Several small reef cuttlefish look alike, but this species' short, stumpy mantle covered in raised, bumpy papillae sets it apart from sleeker relatives.
Appearance
Like other cuttlefish, it has a soft mantle, eight arms, and two longer feeding tentacles normally tucked out of sight inside the head. Its skin is covered in colour-changing cells and small muscle-driven bumps called papillae, which it raises and lowers to alter its texture as well as its pattern. A pair of thin fins runs along the edge of the mantle.
Behaviour
It swims by rippling its fins and adjusting its buoyancy with an internal shell, and can dart away quickly by jetting water from its funnel. It is often seen walking along the seabed, pulling itself forward with its lower arms. Males compete for mates with a bold black-and-white striped display, sometimes followed by grappling with their arms.
Diet
It is a carnivore that hunts crustaceans and small fish, spotting prey by sight, then stalking slowly with its arms raised before shooting out its feeding tentacles to grab it.
Did you know?
Its scientific name, Ascarosepion, comes from Greek words meaning "slipper cuttlefish", a nod to the stumpy, slipper-like shape of its body.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
