Common Cuttlefish
Sepia officinalis
Sighting evidence at Pozo Negro, Fuerteventura
Photo: Dennis Rabeling · CC BY-NC-ND
Common cuttlefish congregate in Pozo Negro's rocky shallows from February through May during their annual breeding season, when males compete for females through elaborate chromatic displays that ripple across their skin in hypnotic waves of colour and pattern. Their chromatophore control is unmatched in the animal kingdom — they can produce any pattern from perfect camouflage mimicking the surrounding substrate to complex display signals aimed at rivals and potential mates simultaneously. After mating, females attach clusters of black egg cases resembling bunches of grapes to rock overhangs and seagrass, and the breeding aggregations bring in opportunistic predators including large sea bream and conger eels.
Evidence at this site
No confirmed records on file at this site
Common Cuttlefish is listed as a curated species here based on historical reports.