Cuttlefish where is the habitat

This is achieved by assuming a streamline body shape and quickly squeezing water from a cavity in their body, through a funnel-like siphon which thrusts them backwards.

Cuttlefish are impressive predators. They are able to catch large, fast moving prey such as fish and crustaceans like crabs, shrimps and prawns.

Cuttlefish feed by using their extendable tentacles to catch prey as it moves past. The bite introduces a toxin, to quickly immobilise any troublesome prey. The largest species of cuttlefish in the world is the Australian giant cuttlefish Sepia apama which can grow up to one metre in length and weigh over 10kg.

The smallest is Spirula spirula which rarely exceeds 45 mm in length. The largest british species is the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis which can grow to around 45cm in length.

Cuttlefish are exclusively marine species and can be found in most marine habitats from shallow seas to deep depths and in cold to tropical seas. Cuttlefish typically spend the winter in deep water and move into shallow coastal waters to breed in the spring and summer. Different species live in seagrass beds, coral reefs , rocky outcrops, sandy seafloor, and more. The various species range across most temperate and tropical seas across the world, save for those off the coast of North, Central, and South America.

Each species has its own specific range and habitat, and some species overlap with others. While each species is different, most have a relatively similar diet. While they are young, most of their diet consists of small shrimp and crustaceans, including larvae. As they grow older, they graduate to fish, crabs, and other mollusks. While hunting, these creatures use their color-changing skin as camouflage to sneak up on prey. Once they locate a food source, they will spray a jet of water to uncover it, and then they snag it with their two long tentacles and secure it with their arms.

The population of each species varies greatly. Some, like the common cuttlefish, are widespread and their populations are stable. However, we have not evaluated many species, and humans are currently threatening others. People commonly eat them, and sometimes use their ink to flavor seafood and pasta, and change the color of some foods.

People also use their ink as dye, but this is less common in current times than it was in the past. Their cuttlebones provide a good calcium supplement for pet birds, like parakeets.

Though these creatures can make good aquarium pets, they do not have very long lifespans. Some species, including common cuttlefish and dwarf cuttlefish, live well in aquariums. If you keep them as pets, you cannot handle them, and they will eat any other fish in the tank. These tentacles pull the food into the other tentacles and the cuttlefish uses its beak and radula rasping tongue to break the prey up into small pieces. Cuttlefish are preyed upon by seabirds, dolphins, sharks, rays and a variety of fish.

Dolphins bite the head and tentacles off cuttlefish and leave the bodies to float on the water's surface for scavenging seabirds. Cephalopods are found in all the oceans of the world, from warm, tropical waters to freezing, polar waters.

They are found in the wave-swept intertidal zone through to the cold, dark abyss.