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Anybody who owns a canary probably knows about “cuttlebone,” which comes from the cuttlefish. The cuttlebone is given to canaries and other cage birds so they can sharpen their beaks on it.
But, except for this, the cuttlefish is quite unknown to most of us. The cuttlefish is not a fish, but a mollusk. It belongs to the class of mollusks called “cephalopods,” which means “head-footed animals.” This is because of the arrangement of the arms, or feet, around the mouth. The octopus also belongs to this class of mollusk.
The cuttlefish is a rather remarkable creature. It travels smoothly and silently through the water by moving the row of fins which are fastened to its shield-shaped body. Sometimes when it moves, it erects the first pair of its tentacles, or feelers. |
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When it comes within striking distance of its prey, it suddenly shoots out its two long tentacles from pockets which are located in its broad head behind its staring bulging eyes.
It grasps its victim with the suckers at the ends of these tentacles, and draws it within reach of four shorter pairs of arms, which also have suckers, and are arranged around its head. It also has a parrot-like beak, and if its victim happens to have a hard shell, it simply crushes it in this beak.
If the cuttlefish decides it wants to retreat suddenly from an enemy, it backs away quickly. It does this by forcing out water through a tube called the “siphon.” Sometimes, when it wants to discourage the enemy from chasing it, it darkens the water with a cloud of inkline fluid called “sepia.”
This inklike sepia is used by man, by the way; it makes a rich brown pigment, or coloring matter. The flesh of the cuttlefish can be eaten after it is dried, and the cuttlebone, which is a bonelike shell beneath the skin of the cuttlefish, is powdered and used in some toothpastes.
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