Flamboyant Cuttlefish

Photo: Mark Rosenstein · CC BY-NC

Flamboyant cuttlefish walk — rather than swim — along the sandy bottom between Hidden Garden's bommies, pulsing waves of warning colour across their mantle in a display that signals their extreme toxicity to potential predators. They are one of the few cephalopods known to be genuinely dangerous to eat, and their bright coloration is a reliable aposematic warning rather than camouflage. Spotting one walking the sand in its full chromatic display is a macro highlight that even experienced divers consider a memorable encounter.