Cuttlefish

The cuttlefish is a marine cephalopod found in coastal waters across much of the world, most diverse in tropical and temperate seas, closely related to squid and octopuses but distinguished by an internal, porous shell called a cuttlebone that helps regulate its buoyancy. It has a wide, flattened body fringed with a rippling fin, large W-shaped pupils, and eight arms plus two longer tentacles used to seize prey such as small fish and crustaceans in a rapid strike. Cuttlefish are renowned for extraordinarily fast and precise color and texture changes, achieved through specialized skin cells called chromatophores, which they use for camouflage, communication with other cuttlefish and, in males, elaborate courtship displays and disguise to avoid rival competition for mates. Widely considered among the most intelligent invertebrates, cuttlefish have demonstrated sophisticated problem-solving and memory abilities in laboratory studies. Most cuttlefish species live only one to two years, reproducing once before dying shortly after laying eggs, a life history pattern shared with many of their cephalopod relatives.