Top 20 Reasons I Love Cuttlefish

I think cuttlefish are just about the coolest sea critters ever. The combination of cuteness and intelligence is just irresistible! I'll share a few of the reasons I adore cuttlefish, and I bet by the end you'll find these tentacley cuties just as fascinating as I do.

1. They're not "morning people."

(Photo credit: Douga. This cranky cuttle is an Australian Giant Cuttlefish, or Sepia apama.)

 2. They're curious.

(Photo credit: Pearbiter.)

 3. Sleeping baby cuttlefish: Adorable newborn, or most adorable newborn ever?

 (Photo credit: Global Voyager.)

4. Great taste in pyjamas.

(Photo credit: Rling.  This fellow is called a Striped Pyjama Squid, which is actually a species of cuttlefish.)

5. Long, dangly tentacles are cute, in a terrifying sort of way.

 (Photo credit: Douga. This is another Sepia apama.)

6. They're unabashedly flamboyant.

(Photo Credit: Tom Weilenman. This is a Pfeffer's Flamboyant Cuttlefish, aka Metasepia pfefferi.)

7. Tentacley sign language.

(Photo Credit: Guppiecat.  This is, in my opinion, a cuttlefish greeting pose.)

8. They look sort of like tiny, aquatic UFOs. 

(Photo Credit: Lising)

9. They have the most oddly shaped skeletons ever.

(Photo Credit: Okoru.  I think this is a clever message to humans, warning of the impending cephalopod takeover. Like putting a horse's head in our collective beds every time a dead cuttlefish washes up on the shore.)

10. They're pretty in pink pairs...

(Photo Credit: Douga.  These are Sepia mestus, or "Reaper Cuttlefish.")

11. ....Beautiful in blue....

(Photo Credit: Serk1)

 12. ...And ravishing in red!

(Photo Credit: Douga.)

13. They let their tentacles do the walking.

(Photo Credit: Bigfez.)

14. Sometimes they imitate giraffes.

(Photo Credit: Global Voyager)

15. Cool undersea bachelor pads.

 (Photo Credit: Nsaunders)

16. Built-in tuning forks/divining rods.

 (Photo Credit: Douga)

17. As venomous as the Blue-Ringed Octopus. But still adorable.

 (Photo Credit: Divers Log. Toxicity of Flamboyant Cuttlefish venom reported by Marine Biologist Mark Norman.)

 18. Jet propulsion.

(Photo Credit: Scubaroog. Explanation of cuttlefish jet propulsion here.)

19. Tiny tentacle burrows.

(Photo by Global Voyager)

20. Moping cuttlefish look an awful lot like certain Elder Gods. I don't recommend upsetting them.

=

 (Photo Credit: Divers Log, creepy Elder Gods found here.)

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