Cuttlefish in the wild have demonstrated remarkable hunting camouflage skills.

Cuttlefish Ascarosepion latimanus (Sepia latimanus), commonly known as broadclub cuttlefish, are recognized for their ability to alter the color and texture of their skin thanks to specialized chromatophore cells. Scientists are aware that cuttlefish use camouflage to hide from predators, but their hunting strategies utilizing camouflage are not yet fully understood.

To delve deeper into this, a team of biologists from the University of Bristol (UK), along with colleagues from Indonesia, spent several months recording broadclub cuttlefish in their natural habitat — the shallow reefs of the Raja Ampat archipelago (Indonesia), where cuttlefish hunt for crabs. During their observations, the researchers captured 234 episodes featuring 98 broadclub cuttlefish — 40 males and 58 females. An article detailing the study was recently published in the journal Ecology.

It was discovered that as they approached their prey, cuttlefish employed four main camouflage techniques, which the biologists named “leaf,” “running stripe,” “branching coral,” and “pulsation.”

In the first technique, cuttlefish adopted a greenish hue, mimicking the color, shape, and movement of a leaf floating in the water. In the second, the mollusks remained gray but had dark stripes running across their bodies, creating an illusion of movement. Additionally, broadclub cuttlefish camouflaged themselves as corals by spreading their tentacles and coloring them to resemble coral branches. During “pulsation,” their extended and conically compressed limbs began to pulse smoothly, while their bodies remained pale gray, blending in with the surrounding background. Each technique could be used independently, or they could alternate and combine elements of these strategies.

The researchers believe that camouflaging as innocuous objects like plant leaves and coral branches allows cuttlefish to lull their prey into a false sense of security. The dynamic stripes racing across their bodies may conceal their approach and confuse their targets. Although the exact role of pulsation in successful hunting remains unclear, they noted that this technique and the combination of camouflage tricks were employed somewhat less frequently than the other methods.

According to the biologists, in their natural environment, cuttlefish demonstrated high individual variability in camouflage tactics and a more diverse range of behavioral responses compared to their counterparts in the laboratory. The scientists attributed this to the negative impact of captivity conditions on the animals' behavior and physiological processes — often too simplistic and monotonous.

In the future, the researchers plan to further investigate how cuttlefish adjust their hunting tactics based on environmental conditions and the type of prey. Data from this could be beneficial for developing adaptive camouflage technologies and advancements in robotics.