Cuttlefish: The Brainy Bunch (ATOM Study Guide)

Imagine a creature so alien that it has three hearts, no bones, blue blood, ten arms sticking out of its head, can fly by jet propulsion and can make itself invisible; or even change its own shape and colour. It sounds too bizarre for a Star Wars episode and yet it exists for real, right now and not far from you. In fact, the seas teem with them – cuttlefish.

You've seen the evidence of their short lives on the beach, the light, white, chalky shells (plates) that budgies love to chew and yet few of us have seen them in the wild. Most of us would confuse them for squid, their close relatives and they are members of the cephalopod (head-footer) group of molluscs, which also includes octopuses. The octopus is noted for its intelligence and generally believed to be the smartest invertebrate, but are these little beasts just as bright?

This remarkable documentary explores the ecology, psychology and biology of this amazing group of creatures. And there is plenty to study because it is hard to imagine another genus that has developed such an extraordinary range of physical characteristics and social behaviours. While it is of interest to middle and senior level biology students, it is also of interest to students of psychology interested in the application of conditioning theory to animals other than rats!