Flamboyant cuttlefish eggs – Video

Flamboyant cuttlefish eggs

Flamboyant cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) eggs (soon to hatch).

Quote from wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasepia_pfefferi

Reproduction : Copulation occurs face-to-face, with the male inserting a packet of sperm into a pouch on the underside of the female’s mantle. The female then fertilises her eggs with the sperm. The eggs are laid singly and placed by the female in crevices or ledges in coral, rock, or wood. In one instance, around a dozen eggs were found under an overturned coconut half. They had been placed there by a female which had inserted them through the central hole of the husk. As such, the eggs were protected from predatory fish.Freshly laid eggs are white, but slowly turn translucent with time, making the developing cuttlefish clearly visible. From birth, juvenile M. pfefferi are capable of the same camouflage patterns as adults.

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