Sunday 19 May Giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) What’s
the World’s Favourite Species?Find out here. Giant Australian
cuttlefish fact file - Find out more - Print factsheet Giant
Australian cuttlefish description The giant Australian
cuttlefish (Sepia apama) is the world’s largest cuttlefish, and,
like many other cephalopods, it is able to camouflage itself
exceptionally well. By changing its skin colour and texture, the
giant Australian cuttlefish can convincingly disguise itself
against its surrounding environment almost instantaneously (4).
Cephalopods, which literally means ‘head-footed’, are a class of
marine molluscs which, along with cuttlefish, includes squid,
octopuses and nautiluses. Unlike other molluscs, cephalopods
have a closed circulatory system, where blood is contained in
vessels, and a highly developed nervous system with a large
brain (4) (5). The giant Australian cuttlefish has eight arms
and two extended tentacles, which are used for mating and
catching prey, as well as to transfor