Common Cuttlefish

Photo: Tommaso Sitzia · CC BY-NC

Common cuttlefish converge on Scoglio del Raviolo in spring to mate and deposit eggs among the posidonia and rocky substrate, making March through June the best time to observe elaborate courtship rippling displays. Females lay clusters of dark grape-like eggs attached to algae and rock, and both sexes guard them actively against rival cuttlefish and predators. Outside the breeding season, solitary individuals are still regularly encountered cruising the reef margins after dark.