NOVEMBER 29, 2

Giant Australian Cuttlefish

Location and habitat
The Giant Australian Cuttlefish (Sepia apama) is found in waters from less than a meter deep to probably around 100 m off Southern and eastern Australia.
Description
Australian Giant Cuttlefish (a solitary creature) is by far the biggest type of cuttlefish growing up to a length of 1 meter and up to 3 kg. They have a big flat broad head with 2 large eyes with 8 tentacles (arms) and 2extendable feeding tentacles emerging from this head. The 2 feeding tentacles which are used for feeding retract into pouches between the bases of the third and fourth arm pairs. Along their sides, they have thin fins.
It breathes like fish through gills.
Internally they have a spongy chalk-like internal shell (cuttlebone) which gives the body its shape. The cuttlefish has three hearts, which pumps blue blood

Movement 
The slow movement is obtained by using its thin fins located along their sides. Propulsion is increased by using jets of water squirted out from a funnel. Australian Giant Cuttlefish swim with their tentacles close to their body, and cuttlefish regulate their buoyancy by pumping water in and out of the gas-filled cuttlebone to change the volume (and thus buoyancy) of the gas to enable them to maintain the depth they wish.

Defense
Cuttlefish have the ability to change their color to match their background, even the texture of its skin to be more like sand or seaweed and can push up fingers of soft skin to impersonate the shape of seaweeds or rubble.
They can also eject ink from an ink sack just like an octopus to confuse and disorientate enemies so it can escape.

Feeding 
They actively forage amongst seaweeds and seagrasses catching shrimp, fish, prawns, crabs and other crustaceans. They use their 2 extendable feeding tentacles to snatch their catch, which is then mashed up by a hard “beak” (jaws).

Breeding
Individuals breed from April to July. This is the time they come closer to the surface and thus can be observed A courting and mateship dance ends up with the male and female entwining their tentacles together. The eggs (hundreds)are then laid a short time later often in little coral caves or on rocky reefs further south. The eggs take a couple of months to hatch.

1. To which depth of water can a giant cuttlefish live?
a. 450 meters
b. 350 meters
c. 250 meters
d. 150 meters
e. 100 meters

2. To which part of the information criteria can you find about the weight of this giant cuttlefish?
a. habitat and location
b. breeding
c. feeding
d. description
e. movement

3. The following time that suitable for the breeding of giant cuttlefish is ….
a. June
b. August
c. September
d. October
e. November

4. This food is common for giant cuttlefish, except ….
a. seaweeds
b. seagrasses
c. mud
d. shrimp
e. crabs

5. The passage above is best read for a student of ….
a. Kindergarten
b. High school, science department
c. High school, technical department
d. High school, social department
e. None of the options are correct

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