Golden Skirt Cuttlefish
The golden skirt cuttlefish is a species of cephalopod most famous for living near shoals in the Nacreous Archipelago, though they may be found in any relatively shallow region of the Manifold Sky setting, especially in Western Tesseract contexts. They are notable for having venemous whiskers and having the ability to survive even in hostile Distal Tesseract waters due to colonies of cyanobacteria residing beneath their rubbery skin.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Golden skirt cuttlefish share the general body plan of other cuttlefish, albeit slightly shorter and more broad than average. The major distinctions of golden skirt cuttlefish include the dark blue-green of their flesh (see Dietary Needs & Habits), their four sets of stinging whiskers, and the bright yellow accents along their skirts and other extremities which frequently phosphoresce under exposure to ultraviolet light or particle radiation (i.e. in the Southern Tesseract). The glowing portions of the creature denote the presence of stinging nematocysts packed with a venom potent enough to stun fish and cause stinging pain in swimmers, though they are seldom fatal to hominids.
Genetics and Reproduction
Golden skirt cuttlefishes mate in the springtime, but will not enter oestrus if prey has been hard to come by in the prior few months. Thus female golden skirt cuttlefish seldom have clutches during a given mating season, but when they do, they carry their many eggs in mucousy sacs beneath their posterior frills until they hatch. Indeed, the glowing pigments in the frills are believed to be a form of aposematism targeting any creature which might seek to gain access to these eggs.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Unlike many cuttlefish endemic to the Western Tesseract and associated faces, the golden skirt cuttlefish eschews the ability to change colors in lieu of supporting colonies of subcutaneous cyanobacteria. These bacteria provide the creature with vital sugars and certain vitamins in exchange for exposure to sunlight in the shallows. This unique adaptation helps the creature go for extended periods of time without their normal prey . In fact, because of this adaptation, the animals can live in the Distal Tesseract despite the dearth of digestible prey species (i.e. those who utilize right-chiral amino acids in their metabolism).
When hunting, golden skirt cuttlefish use a set of four long, stinging barbules intermingled with their tentacles to stun prey. The cuttlefish's normal diet consists of fish and corals, which they crunch up with a beak concealed beneath their tentacles.
Geographic Distribution
Comments