A team of marine biologists from the University of Bristol and Indonesia has discovered that wild broadclub cuttlefish adapt their body shape and color in response to hunting conditions. The researchers, who spent several months filming cuttlefish as they hunted off the coast of New Guinea, found that these cephalopods use four distinct displays to camouflage themselves.
These displays include “the leaf,” where the cuttlefish flattens its body and changes its coloring to resemble a leaf; “the passing stripe,” which involves a dark gray body with a moving black stripe down its back; “branching coral,” where the cuttlefish raises its arms and splays them like coral while changing its color; and “the pulse,” in which the cuttlefish moves its arms forward and points them, creating dark pulses of color along its body.
While the researchers were unable to determine how these displays specifically aid in catching prey, they found that cuttlefish use all four displays with equal frequency. The study, published in the journal Ecology, contributes to our understanding of the complex behavior of these intelligent creatures.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-02-cuttlefish-adjust-conditions-prey.html