Metasepia Pfefferi - Michael Speight

The Flamboyant Cuttlefish lives for about a year and begins its life in an egg, however unlike other cuttlefish species it does not include ink it its egg so the eggs appears to be translucent and you can see the developing cuttlefish inside. Once they hatch the cuttlefish begin hunting whatever they can and attempt to master their ability to camouflage. Juveniles are capable of the same color changes and camouflage patterns as adults. M. Pfefferi grow quickly and can reach adult size between 4 and 6 months. Females are known to be larger than males at a maximum size of 8 centimeters while males grow to a max of 4 - 6 centimeters mantle length, this excludes tentacles. At around 4 months after hatching is when M. Pfefferi reaches sexual maturity and can begin mating, which they do so face to face in a very short interaction between the male and female. The female lays its eggs one by one usually in protective crevices found in coral or rocks. One example was when around a dozen eggs were found in an overturned half of a coconut where the female had inserted them through a hole in the husk. Once the eggs have been laid she coats each individual egg with a protective sheath and cements them to whatever protective den she has chosen and then dies shortly thereafter.

Interesting Features

As mentioned before the M. Pfefferi has a smaller cuttlebone compared to other species of cuttlefish, this along with the cuttlebone being more dense results in negative buoyancy. This negative buoyancy makes it so M. Pfefferi cannot stay afloat for very long so it is found "walking" along the sea floor using its outer pair of arms and two lobes on the underside of the mantle to move along the substrate (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51jB8YljliM). Another unique feature with the Flamboyant Cuttlefish is that when it is disturbed or encounters a predator it stands its ground and flashes its colors (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMGQqfzYiD8), while other cuttlefish may jet propel themselves away from the predator. This may be because of the deadly toxin that is in the M. Pfefferi's muscle tissue that makes it a deadly meal for any predator that consumes it. The poisonous muscle tissue of this cuttlefish is as toxic as the bite of a blue ringed octopus which is known to have killed humans. However the toxin itself is unknown and belongs to a completely different class of toxins which could potentially result in new medical discoveries with human applications. The Flamboyant Cuttlefish is the only known species of cuttlefish that walks along the ocean floor as its preferred form of locomotion, and is the only species among any group of Cephalopods to have poisonous flesh. Research done my Mark Norman with the Museum Victoria in Queensland, Australia believes that the toxicity of the Flamboyant Cuttlefish is the sole reason of why its behavior is so unusual compared to that of its family members. This could be the first step in a whole new line of evolution in these animals.

Metasepia Pfefferi In Captivity

The Flamboyant Cuttlefish is relatively undocumented and its only known commercial use is to be used in aquariums as exotic displays. The reason for this is because of the fact their toxin in the muscle makes it impossible to consume, and the fact that the toxin is unknown so its use in medicine is yet to be discovered. However even keeping this unusual species alive in an aquarium can prove to be very difficult, which may be yet another reason why the species is undocumented because of the difficulty of keeping lineages alive over many generations. These cuttlefish are easily stressed and must be kept on a strict program with details from feeding regimens, male to female ration, a water temp that varies no more than 2 degrees. This animal requires immense amounts of care in order to keep in captivity. Information about this animals population in the wild has been listed as data deficient.

References

Ross, Richard. "Aquarium Invertebrates: Metasepia Pfefferi – the Aptly Named Flamboyant Cuttlefish." — Advanced Aquarist. N.p., 9, Jan. 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/10/inverts>.

"Pfeffer's Flamboyant Cuttlefishes, Metasepia pfefferi ~ MarineBio.org." MarineBio Conservation Society. Web. Accessed Monday, November 30, 2015. <http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=557>. Last update: 11/21/2014 10:35:00 AM ~ Contributor(s): MarineBio <http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=557>

Grasse, Bret. "The Biological Characteristics, Life Cycle, and System Design for the Flamboyant and Paintpot Cuttlefish, Metasepia Sp., Cultured Through Multiple Generations." Drum and Croaker: A Highly Irregular Journal for the Public Aquarist. N.p., 45, Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. <http://drumandcroaker.org/pdf/2014.pdf#page=59>.

Kings Of Camouflage. Dir. Gisela Kaufmann and Carsten Orlt. Perf. Mark Norman, Jean Boal, Roger Hanlon, and Jess E. Purdy. Nova, 2011. PBS, 13 July 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.