Prideful Cuttlefish

Metasepia placeus

In the shallow sea off the coast of Calder, volcanic minerals deposited in the ocean has created a colourful menagerie of light under the sea as the many species of coral has incorporated the excess minerals into their biology, creating a Glass Reef found nowhere else in the Hollow Earth. Living in this Glass Reef is an equally colourful predator, the Prideful Cuttlefish. Closely related to the Flamboyant Cuttlefish of the surface but twice the size, the prideful cuttlefish using its abilities to blend into the colourful environment to hide from predators and ambush prey which usually comprises of crustaceans, trilobites, small fish and smaller cephalopods. Unlike other cuttlefish that use their bright colours to attract mates, the prideful cuttlefish instead darkens its colours which greatly stand out against the background. The darker a male can make his chromatophores, the more impressive he will seem.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Sepiida
Family: Sepiidae
Genus: Metasepia
Species: M. placeus