10 Awesome Cuttlefish Facts

pharaoh cuttlefish, cuttlefish facts
Pharaoh Cuttlefish (photo by Cherilyn Chin)

10 Awesome Cuttlefish Facts

1. Cuttlefish are cephalopods, not fish. Cephalopods include octopus, squid and nautilus.

2. Cuttlefish, along with most cephalopods, are the ocean’s most intelligent invertebrates.

3. Cuttlebone, is lightweight and found in the body of a cuttlefish. Cuttlebone is used by pet birds to get calcium.

4. Cuttlefish have green-blue blood and 3 hearts!

5. A cuttlefish’s camouflage is so amazing that it can take on a checkerboard pattern placed beneath it.

6. Cuttlefish are color blind.

7. Cuttlefish taste with their suckers.

8. Cuttlefish have 8 arms and 2 long tentacles used for feeding.

9. The largest cuttlefish is the Australian giant cuttlefish, which is the size and shape of an American football.

And the last cuttlefish fact is:

10. Cuttlefish eyes have W shaped eyelids so they can see in front of them and behind them at the same time.

See my review of the Tentacles Exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

See the Anatomy of a Cuttlefish from PBS’s NOVA special, Kings of Camouflage