House Reef Malapascua
Cuttlefish are much more closely related to garden slugs and snails than they are to fish! They belong to the same group of animals as the octopuses, squid and nautilus and like a snail they are all molluscs.
Cuttlefish are unique within this group in that they have a gas filled bone within their bodies which allows them to be buoyant… you may have seen cuttlebones before, sticking out from the bars on a budgie's cage? The bone is within the body part of the animal called the mantle and attached to the mantle is a head with eight arms and two feeding tentacles.
The cuttlefish is an ambush predator and a master of disguise. Its skin is covered with special cells called chromatophores, iridophores and leucophores that reflect light in many different colours enabling the cuttlefish to blend into its background almost perfectly. Some say it's like a chameleon but it is far superior in its ability to change colour and even the texture of its skin!
