Common Cuttlefish

Photo: markbonello · CC BY-NC

Cuttlefish appear in Dunstaffnage Bay from late spring through summer to mate and lay eggs on kelp fronds and beneath boulders, with the eggs developing over several weeks into visible bunches of dark capsules called 'sea grapes'. Displaying males ripple hypnotic chromatic patterns across their mantle to impress females and intimidate rival males in some of the most extraordinary visual communication in the animal kingdom. Scotland sits at the northern edge of the cuttlefish's range and their occurrence here is monitored as a climate change indicator.