Cuttlefish Photos from Babbacombe

[TimIng]

At this time of year, cuttlefish come into the bay at Babbacombe (on the South Coast of Devon, England) to mate and lay eggs. Unfortunately due to the number of pots that the fisherman put down to catch them, many are caught before they get a chance to replicate. Despite that, over a days diving I managed to see about 7 or 8 mating pairs which was an absolutely fabulous experience - last year I saw only 2 individuals over 2 days.

Unfortunately the viz was shocking, often no more than about 50cm (less than 2 feet). I was hoping to get some nice photos of the mating pairs with a W/A but I had to make do with a macro lens - and a 105 at that (the 60mm lens I'd left at home!).

Anyway, here are a couple from the day.

A couple of eye shots:







The female lays her eggs on a certain plant, when she does so, the male seems to stay in contact, stroking her all the while.





Cuttlefish have the ability to change the colours and patterns on their skin this is a close up on the skin of a male:





Whilst there I also took a shot of a Snakelocks Anemone - these are commonplace but I think beautiful as they have an almost irridescent quality.





Tim

[Torrey]

Cool macros. I always thought cuttlefish had the most interesting eyes. I'm always a sucker for anemone shots too.

[mobilezen]

mmm cuttlefish. I'm hungry for some udon now. :D