Scientific name:

Sepia officinalis

About:

Cuttlefish are relatives of squid and octopuses. They are predators, living out in water up to 200metres deep but coming into shallow, weedy waters to breed. When they die, the large chalky internal shell, known as ‘cuttle bones’ often wash up on the beach.

How to identify:

<p>Cuttle bones are white and chalky, oval shaped with thin harder ‘wings’ at one end. Cuttlefish are thick-set squid that grow up to 30cm long, often with brownish tiger stripes.</p>

Where:

Found around the coasts of England and Wales.

Fantastic facts:

Cuttlefish can change colour to merge into the background, or to flash different colours and pattersn to distract predators or attract mates.