Philippines Photo Gallery: Dumaguete Cephalopods

Cephalopods are molluscs with bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and arms or tentacles. They include squid, octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus.

Octopus:

Octopus are soft-bodied eight-limbed molluscs.

Great blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena lunulata

Mimic octopus, Thaumoctopus mimicus

Algae octopus, Abdopus aculeatus, mimics gastropod shell with algae growth.

White-V (long arm) octopus, Abdopus sp.

Poison ocellate (Mototi) octopus, Aphioctopus mototi

Squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eights arms, and two tentacles.

Berry's bobtail squid, Euprymna berryi

Pygmy squid, Idiosepini cf paradoxus

Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, used to control buoyancy. They eat molluscs, crabs, shrimps, fish, octopus, and other cuttlefish. Cuttlefish can change color and texture rapidly.

Flamboyant cuttlefish, Metasepia pfefferi, are common in the Philippines. They have a broad oval mantle.

Freshly-laid eggs are white but turn translucent, making the developing flamboyant cuttlefish clearly visible.

Broadclub cuttlefish, Sepia latimanus, are often light brown or yellow.


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Last modified 31 October 2024