Male Andrea cuttlefish stretching its body as part of a mating display Arata Nakayama et al. 2024, Ecology and Evolution/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Some male cuttlefish seem to squirt out ink to enhance their courtship displays, offering the first evidence that cephalopod ink has uses beyond just fighting and defence against predators.
Andrea cuttlefish (Sepia andreana) are unusual among cuttlefish because males sport a pair of long arms that aren’t seen in females. But despite these strong sex-associated characteristics, little was known about this species’ reproduction, says at the University of Tokyo.
In lab aquaria, the researchers…
