SPRING WISRD MAGAZINE, VOL 6, ISSUE 2

Diagram of Taiwan'sNational TsingHua University'sExperiment on Juvenile Cuttlefish.

Hanlon says. Not only can cut t lefish skin shift colors and pat terns in the blink of an eye, it can also change texture just as fast . Even in complete darkness, cut t lefish gather and constr ict bands of muscles beneath their skin to small points on the surface of their skin. Cut t lefish use their complex visual ability for a var iety of things. They are able to flash different sect ions of their body in order to hypnot ize their prey and str ike. They use similar flashes to ?fight?with other cut t lefish for dominance; whichever has the br ightest and most alarming pat tern is the victor. Male cut t lefish ut ilize their unique skin pat tern while mat ing, changing their

backs to mimic female pat terns in order to deter other r ival males. By mimicking another female cut t lefish, it deters suspicion that the male is court ing a female. Cut t lefish, like their close octopus relat ives, are considered highly intelligent , so it?s no surpr ise that cut t lefish exploit their skin?s abilit ies to its full potent ial; cephalopods are somet imes called ?honorary vertebrates,?despite being invertebrates, for their cognit ive ability and potent ial consciousness. A study from Taiwan's Nat ional Tsing Hua University suggested that cut t lefish are even able to comprehend numer ical

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