All language subtitles for Cuttlefish Kings of Camouflage PBS NOVA 2007 720p x264 AAC MVGroup EN Sub

NARRATOR:
Imagine an alien
that can float through space

with a giant brain shaped
like a doughnut,

eight arms growing
out of its head,

and three hearts pumping
blue blood.

This alien lives right here
on earth.

It's called the cuttlefish...

...a flesh-eating predator
who's a master of illusion,

changing its shape and color
at will.

It can hypnotize its prey...

or even become invisible.

MARK NORMAN:
They've developed this skin

that can do the amazing changes
in color and changes in shape,

and you couldn't get
a weirder-looking animal.

ROGER HANLON:
Every place they go,
they are morphing into something

that looks a lot
like that environment.

NARRATOR:
How does an animal
that's related to a slug

manage such clever tricks?

NORMAN:
You get a sense
there's a hell of a lot

going on in those brains,
but we're struggling

to kind of understand
how they work.

NARRATOR:
NOVA dives into a stunning
and bizarre world,

as researchers probe
the surprising brainpower...

Three, two, one...

NARRATOR:
...and explore
the conjuring magic

of one of the strangest
creatures alive today.

JESSE PURDY:
We are testing an animal
that's very alien.

It's as close, perhaps,
as we're going to get

to studying an animal
on another planet.

NARRATOR:
"Kings of Camouflage,"
right now on NOVA.

Major funding for NOVA is
provided by the following:

Supporting NOVA and promoting
public understanding of science.

And by the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting

and by contributions
to your PBS station from:

NARRATOR:
Dive into the oceans
off Europe or Australia

and you might encounter
a strange and elusive animal.

This is nature's greatest master
of disguise...

the cuttlefish.

Its visual wizardry
and clever behavior

have fascinated and mystified
scientists for years.

NORMAN:
When you come across
your first cuttlefish,

they are
the most amazing creatures.

They're either a pair of eyes
staring out of a bush of seaweed

or they're these sort of
small, alien spaceship,

and you couldn't get a weirder
looking animal underwater.

NARRATOR:
Captivated by these
bizarre creatures

is marine biologist Mark Norman,

based at the Museum Victoria
in southern Australia.

NORMAN:
The thing that fascinates me
about cuttlefish is

that they are so different
from what's familiar to us.

And when you dive with them
and see all the things

they're capable of, you just
can't help being drawn to them.

NARRATOR:
Cuttlefish have been performing
their own brand of magic

for millions of years
in oceans around the world,

though not in the Americas.

Technically,
cuttlefish aren't fish at all,

but mollusks-- soft-bodied
animals without a spine--

a group that includes
snails and clams.

But these animals have
no outer shell.

They're a kind of cephalopod,

along with their more famous
cousins, octopus and squid.

Cuttlefish might be
lesser known,

but they're no less talented.

In the blink of an eye,

their skin can change
color, pattern, even shape.

NORMAN:
They've developed this skin
that can do

the amazing changes in color
and changes in shape.

And what fascinates me the most

is how different
cuttlefish species

have taken that basic tool that
probably evolved for camouflage

and they've taken it
a step further and said,

"All right, how can we use this
in other ways?"

NARRATOR:
So what else are these
peculiar animals capable of?

There are over 100 different
species of cuttlefish.

One of the strangest lives
in the waters of Indonesia,

and Mark Norman has come here
to try and track it down.

NORMAN:
Very nice place.

What is the diving like?

NARRATOR:
With the help
of local guide Ronald Sarante,

Mark will search the reefs

for the elusive
Broadclub cuttlefish,

a shape-shifter with
some particularly weird habits.

Okay, are you ready, Mark?

Yep, after you.

NORMAN:
The first problem when you come
to these sorts of tropical areas

is just even finding an animal.

You swim
over huge areas of reef,

and you're probably swimming
over lots of animals,

but you have
no idea they're there

because they're excellent
at camouflage.

NARRATOR:
Cuttlefish often have
favorite stomping grounds,

and it's Ronald's
local expertise

which brings Mark face-to-face

with his first
Broadclub cuttlefish.

NORMAN:
When you first approach
cuttlefish,

within sort of
ten or 15 minutes,

you can get fairly close
to them.

They're checking out you as much
as you're checking them out.

And that's the most
exciting time to sit and watch

their behaviors, because after
a while they get used to you,

and they will allow you
to accompany them

while they go off to catch food.

And these guys have developed
the most amazing way to do it.

NARRATOR:
Cuttlefish are often hungry
and on the lookout

for a tasty treat.

Sneaking up in coral camouflage
is one hunting trick.

But if this fails, the Broadclub
cuttlefish gives up all attempts

at being inconspicuous...

and instead pulls out
all the stops,

with a dazzling show that seems

to stun its prey
and leaves it helpless.

How can an animal turn itself
into something as flashy

as a Las Vegas marquee?

Halfway around the world, at the
Marine Biological Laboratory

in Woods Hole, Massachusetts,

Roger Hanlon is trying
to deconstruct

the cuttlefish's
visual pyrotechnics.

Checkers, anyone?

HANLON:
They got white and dark...

NARRATOR:
Roger's cuttlefish work hard
to blend in,

even to the most unnatural
environments,

thanks to their versatile skin.

There's no skin
on earth like a cuttlefish.

These animals can change
instantaneously.

The diversity is fantastic.

Chameleons are boring
by comparison.

NARRATOR:
So how does cuttlefish skin
work its magic?

HANLON:
Their skin is extraordinary,

because it has two ways
to produce color and pattern.

NARRATOR:
The secret lies in specialized
layers of skin cells.

HANLON:
The top layer

are the pigmented cells that
give you most of the patterning,

and they are layered.

They have a yellow,
a red and a brown.

One little pigment cell is

this little ball of color,

all tightly bound up
so you don't see it,

and it has muscles attached
to it,

and the muscles can pull
that pigment sac out

into a little disc of color.

And then when the muscles
let go, it just-- boink--

goes right back in
and you don't see anything.

And so it's
a very simple mechanism.

NARRATOR:
Next, there's a deeper layer
of iridescent reflecting cells

that produce blue and green,
along with red and pink.

Add a white base, and the
cuttlefish palette is complete.

HANLON:
There is no limit to the colors
they can show in their skin.

It's really marvelous.

NARRATOR:
Along with color and pattern,

the skin can change
its texture, too,

pushing up bumps
along its surface.

HANLON:
Well, this enables you to fool
any visual predator there is.

It's much better than the
Harry Potter invisible cloak.

There is no comparison.

This is real camouflage.

They're doing it the real way.

NARRATOR:
To match their surroundings,

cuttlefish rely
on their eyesight.

As strange as it may appear
to us,

their W-shaped pupils provide
excellent vision.

HANLON:
So here you have
this magnificent eye.

This eye can see things
very, very well.

NARRATOR:
Visual cues go
straight to the brain,

and the brain, in turn,
sends instructions

right to the skin cells.

HANLON:
It's the fastest possible way,
direct control by a nerve.

And so we call this
"electric skin,"

because as soon as the
information gets to the brain,

the information is taken
out of the brain,

goes to the skin,
and says, "Do this."

And it's just boom, boom,
boom, boom, you know?

It's really quick.

NARRATOR:
The cuttlefish's electric skin
usually works for self-defense--

to make it disappear
into the background--

but clearly,
the Broadclub found a new use

for its changeability.

HANLON:
My guess is that

their skin evolved
for camouflage,

because as soon as they got rid
of the big shell,

they had to hide from predators.

I think after that, the skin
then evolved these patterns

for communication,
for mating and courtship,

and in some cases, even
for tricking shrimps and fishes

that they're going to eat.

NARRATOR:
Back in Indonesia,
Mark Norman wants to know

exactly what triggers
the Broadclub

to turn itself
into the ultimate exhibitionist.

NORMAN:
I'm very interested in
this strange feeding behavior,

and so to try and understand
what's going on,

we need to get them
to do this behavior on cue,

whenever we want it to happen.

By handing them
live prey or decoys,

they start doing the behavior.

You can start analyzing
what is it that sets them off,

when it works best.

NARRATOR:
Mark's first offering
of small crabs,

their favorite food, is welcome.

But it doesn't trigger too many
light switches.

Next step:

offer a bigger lure,
like a toy lobster.

Will this do the trick?

The lobster proves irresistible,

for as long as it looks alive.

Once it stops moving,

the Broadclub seems
to lose its motivation.

When Mark brings the lure back
to life,

the performance promptly
resumes.

But not for very long.

This cuttlefish is getting bored
with toys

and is ready for the real thing.

Cuttlefish like their meals
alive.

So does the size of a potential
meal trigger these light shows?

NORMAN:
Well, it seems that for smaller
prey or once they're well fed,

that they almost don't bother
doing it.

But with the bigger lures
and the bigger crabs,

the cuttlefish do a really good,

detailed display to sort of, um,
stun or to dazzle the prey

long enough to slow them down.

And then the cuttlefish could
come in and nail them

in the way it wanted to.

In the case of the crabs,

the cuttlefish wanted
to grab it from behind,

so those big, dangerous claws

are out of the way
of the attacker.

NARRATOR:
It's all about positioning.

If you don't want
to lose one of your arms,

you've got to get just the right
grip on your prey.

With his next offering,

Mark gets an even better view
of the show.

NORMAN:
The most interesting is when you
offer a Broadclub cuttlefish

a live animal in a glass jar.

It gives you a perspective where
you can move the jar around

and see what it looks like
from the prey's point of view.

It looks like they're sort of

effectively hypnotizing
their prey.

It's fantastic.

They get very excited,
come in and nail the glass,

get confused the water is solid

and they can't get through the
water, and they continually try

and get in at different angles
on these glass containers.

NARRATOR:
Every cuttlefish starts off

with the same hungry
determination,

but Mark can't fool them
for long.

NORMAN:
They learn really quickly.

It only takes a few strikes
before they realize

they're not getting the crab,
it's a total waste of time.

You can sort of see them
mentally turn off

and sort of drift away.

You get a sense there's a hell
of a lot going on

in those brains,
but we're struggling

to kind
of understand how they work.

NARRATOR:
As alien as they seem,

cuttlefish do share something
with us...

big brains.

While humans have one
of the biggest

brain-to-body ratios
among mammals,

cuttlefish and octopus top
the list for all invertebrates.

Their large brains most likely
evolved hand in hand

with their complicated
and changeable skin.

HANLON:
There are up to 20 million

of these pigment cells
in the skin,

and to control 20 million
of anything is going

to take a lot
of processing power.

And it has to have a large brain
to make all this work.

NARRATOR:
But does a big brain necessarily
mean cuttlefish are intelligent?

Looking for answers is
Jesse Purdy,

a comparative psychologist

at Southwestern University
in Texas.

PURDY:
Can we know more about ourselves

by studying another animal?

And as a comparative
psychologist, I think we can.

By understanding their world
a little bit

can give us more insight
into our world.

NARRATOR:
But how do you measure
an animal's brainpower?

PURDY:
The work with cuttlefish is
at a very early stage.

Not a lot of people have done
learning experiments

with cuttlefish.

So we need to start
at a very basic stage

and then move up the ladder.

(motor clicking)

NARRATOR:
Here at Southwestern,

cuttlefish are being tested

for the most basic levels
of learning.

For example,

if you put a windup plastic fish
into a cuttlefish tank,

at first it mistakes it
for food,

but once it realizes
how unappetizing the toy is,

from then on,
the cuttlefish will ignore it.

But can you teach the cuttlefish

that the toy has
a different meaning?

PURDY:
The experiment that we do

with Troy the toy fish is
actually asking that question.

Okay, here we go. You ready?

I'm ready.
All right,
Shannon...

PURDY:
The experiment as you see it
looks very simple.

You see somebody simply drop
a toy fish in

and then a little bit later
drop a fish in.

NARRATOR:
One question is,

whether or not
cuttlefish can learn

to associate the toy fish
with the promise of food.

Sure enough,

if Troy the toy is consistently
joined by a real fish,

then the cuttlefish will pay
close attention to him.

But with a separate test group,

Troy swims alone
and no meal appears.

So for those cuttlefish,

Troy will hold absolutely
no interest.

So we're seeing a difference
between these two groups.

And the difference is learning.

Hydrophone, check.

Okay, guys,
we're ready to go here.

NARRATOR:
The next step is to see if the
animal can learn to do something

in order to get fed--

like pressing a button
on a vending machine,

or in their world, hitting a jar
to receive a reward.

PURDY:
There's an
orienting response.

NARRATOR:
Sound familiar?

(tape rewinding)

Remember when the Broadclub
cuttlefish was shown crabs

in a jar?

After a few frustrated jabs,
it quickly lost interest.

But in this test,

some cuttlefish are rewarded
from an automated feeder.

Strike the jar, get a snack.

These cuttlefish quickly learn
this trick

and will keep hitting the jar.

Cuttlefish easily master
the most basic learning skills.

So researchers need to come up
with more difficult challenges

if they want to really measure
their brainpower.

PURDY:
Are cuttlefish intelligent?

I'm absolutely convinced
that they are.

So, where do we go from here?

Is it the level
of cognitive complexity

that we think
these animals are capable of?

Have we seen how smart they are
at this point?

And I don't believe we have.

NARRATOR:
For any creature,

when it comes to intelligence,
what matters most is

how it helps you survive
in the real world,

so you can pass on your genes
to a new generation.

And there's one place
where the wiliest cuttlefish

play their most elaborate
tricks.

(birds cawing)

It's late May
in southern Australia.

Life on shore is just settling
down for the winter.

But beneath the waves,
things are heating up.

It's the mating season

for the Australian
Giant cuttlefish,

and thousands of them are
swimming

into the spawning grounds.

NORMAN:
Giant cuttlefish coming together

to breed is the most dazzling
shows that they can do

in these color
and shape changes.

And it's spectacular
when you see them

just come to life
in these big displays.

It's sort of like they rip off
their Clark Kent outfit

and out comes Superman,
or Supercuttlefish.

NARRATOR:
Giant cuttlefish can grow
over three feet long.

Eye to eye, the big males try
to outdo each other

with the most intimidating
body patterns.

The smaller females seem
unimpressed.

NORMAN:
It's usually
a very secretive behavior

in lots of other animals,
including other cuttlefishes,

and you're lucky to even come
across breeding aggregations.

But to see thousands of them
here is just spectacular.

And so for several months

they give up the pretense
of looking like seaweed

or hiding in amongst the sand

or the mud,
and they go, "Bugger it!

"We're just gonna look
fantastic, and we're gonna fight

with each other and we're gonna
impress females."

And they totally ignore us.

We can sit in amongst them,
they can almost sit on our head,

and that's when the best
displays come out.

NARRATOR:
During mating,

males outnumber the females,

sometimes ten to one.

And they're all looking

for the chance
to pass on their genes.

While a female lays eggs
beneath a rock,

a big male tries
to monopolize her,

staving off the other
hopeful suitors.

Sometimes intimidation alone
won't work,

and the competitors
hurl themselves

into a violent and
bizarre-looking wrestling match.

Like an octopus,
they'll squirt out

an inky smoke screen when
it's time for a hasty retreat.

But size and strength aren't the
only ways to impress the ladies.

Thanks to the cuttlefish's
skin-morphing talents,

the smaller males have
a clever trick up their sleeve.

NORMAN:
The really interesting thing
in this system

is actually far less obvious.

And when you first dive
with them, you don't see it.

It takes a while before
you realize what's going on.

The small males,
who have no chance

in a contest with a big male,

are actually doing something
completely different.

They're effectively
cross-dressing.

They're dressing up as a female
by pulling in their webs

and putting on this
mottled color pattern...

and gliding past these
big, aggressive males,

pretending to be a female,

and will come in
to the female underneath.

NORMAN:
And what happens is,
as another big male comes in

and a potential conflict between
these big guys starts up,

the sneaker male
will start mating with her--

successfully mate
with the female--

while the big guy
isn't even aware of it.

NARRATOR:
The cross-dressers' success
is all the more impressive

because the females
often play hard-to-get,

as Roger Hanlon
has seen firsthand.

HANLON:
These females are very picky.

They reject 70%
of approaches for mating.

Yet they only reject

30% of
the cross-dressing males.

So this trick
gets them in the door,

so to speak,
past the fighting male.

And they're accepted
by the female.

NARRATOR:
The little guy may have
crossed one hurdle,

but a female's
welcoming embrace alone

won't guarantee
reproductive success.

HANLON:
Mating in a cuttlefish
is a strange affair.

They go head-to-head,
we call it.

Then they join

those eight arms together
from each animal.

Then the male has
one special arm underneath,

in which he reaches back and
he pulls out a packet of sperm.

And then he just places
that packet of sperm

right up amidst the arms
of the female.

NARRATOR:
It's the male's job
to hand over the sperm.

But once he does, fertilization
is up to the female.

She's already mated
with multiple partners

and is storing their sperm
in pouches under her arms.

HANLON:
So now this female choosing,
this takes on a new dimension.

She not only chooses mates
during the day,

but she has some choice
and some influence

over which sperm get used.

And guess what?

The male can do
nothing about that.

NARRATOR:
So whose sperm
wins out in the end?

There's only one way
to find out.

We actually do
paternity testing,

just like humans do
in a court of law.

And we use the same technique,
and it's very precise.

NARRATOR:
Roger was part of a team
that extracted DNA samples

from all the participants--
the mother, her partners

and the babies--
to find out

who's the daddy.

HANLON:
One of the biggest
surprises is that

the cross-dressing males

got the very next
fertilization.

And we did not
expect this at all.

The only reason we can think of

is that this is a very bold,
smart tactic,

and the females may be
acknowledging that

in sort of evolutionary terms.

So this trick,
as strange as it seems,

is very successful.

NARRATOR:
Over the course
of a couple of weeks,

each female will lay
hundreds of eggs,

sired by many fathers,

filling up the crevices
on the undersides of rocks.

The eggs will remain there
for three to five months,

until the babies
are ready to hatch.

But the newborns
will be orphans.

The mating season marks the end

of the Giant cuttlefish's
life cycle,

and the parents won't survive

to see the birth
of the next generation.

NORMAN:
It looks like cuttlefish
only have one mating season.

It can last for
up to six or eight weeks,

but it's only the one session,
and then they all die.

So, some burn bright
and die young,

some live slightly longer
and die,

but all of them
don't live very long.

So it's probably only
18 months to two years old

is how long they live.

NARRATOR:
With such a short life span,
it's even more surprising

how smart these creatures
seem to be.

Intelligence is all about

learning to adapt
to new situations.

Here at Millersville University
in Pennsylvania,

Jean Boal wants to figure out
just how much--

and how fast--
cuttlefish can learn.

BOAL:
I think cuttlefish are
remarkably intelligent animals.

So the issue is:
am I smart enough

to find out how smart they are?

NARRATOR:
For nearly 20 years,
Jean has been running tests

with cuttlefish and their more
famous cousin, the octopus.

BOAL:
I began with octopuses

because there are no cuttlefish
in the Americas,

so like most Americans,
I'd never heard of them.

Octopuses love to destroy
lab equipment.

(chuckles)

If they can possibly rip
something apart, they will.

And in terms of their
performance in experiments,

octopuses are
unbelievably erratic.

One day, they'll be brilliant,
and the next five days,

they'll act like they don't know
anything at all.

Hey, everybody.

How are you today?
Huh?

Once I got started
working with cuttlefish,

they're very practical animals
to work with.

They're very easy,
and they're very engaging.

And then on top of that,

it looks like their brain size
relative to body size

is perhaps even larger
than octopuses.

And it would be really wonderful
if we could just figure out

what they're doing
with all that brain.

NARRATOR:
To test her cuttlefish, Jean has
created a special enclosure,

fashioned from
a plastic trash barrel,

which the animals
must try to escape from.

BOAL:
The real difficulty for me
is to find out how to ask them

so that they can tell me
what they know.

They're certainly not
going to tell me verbally,

so I have to design
a clever enough experiment

that their behavior can
tell me what they know.

And that's what's really
challenging and really,

in many ways, exciting.

STUDENT:
She's up next?

All right,
come on, sweetie.

Oh, come on...

NARRATOR:
13 research subjects, with names
like Bubbles, Goofy and Crook,

are tested three times a day
over several months.

All right, who
have we got?

We got Crook.

Okay.
What time is it?

NARRATOR:
Their job is to negotiate
a simple maze

and to find their way out
as quickly as possible.

BOAL:
The cuttlefish maze
has a starting tube

where they go in
and just calm down

for a few seconds.

In she goes. She's in.

Three, two, one.

BOAL:
Door's open.

And then,
there's a larger arena,

and they have to decide
whether to go right or left.

And there are features in there
to help them distinguish that.

NARRATOR:
In each trial, only one of
the two exit doors is open.

The cuttlefish has to look
for clues to pick the right one.

If there's a piece of plastic
seaweed in the enclosure,

then the striped door
will lead to freedom.

But if the cuttlefish

enters the maze and sees
a big brick instead,

then the solid door
is the way to go.

If the cuttlefish
picks the wrong door,

she'll be blocked
by clear plastic.

All right, this is Tad.

NARRATOR:
So can a cuttlefish
learn these rules?

BOAL:
In you go.

The current problem
that I'm working on

is "conditional discrimination
learning."

Three, two, one.
Can you remember
the two things at once?

Open.
She's in.

STUDENT:
Starting.

BOAL:
And we have good evidence

that the cuttlefish can do this,

which is truly extraordinary
for an invertebrate animal.

There she goes.

She is out!

Great time.

NARRATOR:
The cuttlefish are able
to recognize and remember

at least two rules,
or conditions,

for finding the open exit.

That's a level of intelligence
much more common

among creatures
that possess a backbone.

So what's really exciting about
cuttlefish intelligence is,

we know that their relatives
are clams and snails.

Those are not animals that had
a need for great intelligence.

So whatever happened
to cuttlefish was different.

HANLON:
I think one of the reasons

they have to be so smart is,
they've given up

their external body armor
like a snail has.

They're soft,
they're vulnerable,

they can be eaten.

Everything in the ocean
eats cuttlefish.

So these animals have to get by

by their wits, so to speak.

They have to be smart.

I think it's safe to say

that cuttlefish are definitely
as smart as fish.

And, in fact, they're as smart
as maybe even some animals

like... birds and mammals

and other things we consider
to be smarter animals.

NARRATOR:
The cuttlefish's big brain,

together with
its amazing camouflage,

probably evolved
so they could survive

in dangerous environments
filled with hungry fishes.

But one cuttlefish might have
acquired another secret weapon.

Back in the tropics,

Mark Norman and Ronald Sarante
are searching

for Mark's favorite cuttlefish,
who has managed to thrive

in a unique
and threatening landscape.

NORMAN:
These muck dives
on sand and mud areas

are very different.

They feel very solemn
and dark and moody.

You have these black plains
going everywhere.

The few animals you do pass

are either covered
in poisonous spines

or pretending
to be dead leaves.

You get this feeling

that it's just oppressed
by predators.

NARRATOR:
This is a place
of the weird and the wonderful,

where standing out
or blending in

all depends on whether
you are predator or prey.

It's one of the few places
you'll find

the rare mimic octopus.

But the strangest of them all
is a creature called

the Flamboyant cuttlefish.

For a start, it's walking,

not swimming.

NORMAN:
It's still really foreign for me

to watch a cuttlefish
walking around on the sea floor.

They actually look like

these prehistoric
lumbering monsters

sort of walking through
these ancient black deserts.

NARRATOR:
This enigmatic animal

has made a huge impression
on Mark,

despite the fact it's only
a couple of inches long.

Although
the Flamboyant cuttlefish

walks most of the time,
it can swim,

but just barely.

What's wrong?

Cuttlefish get their name
from their cuttlebone,

a chalky internal shell
filled with gas

that allows them to float.

But the tiny Flamboyant's
cuttlebone has shrunk so much,

it can't float for very long.

NORMAN:
They seem to have
a really gentle nature.

They flap up into the water,
they settle down again,

and they go back to walking

along the sea floor,
back into camouflage,

back into feeding
almost straightaway,

looking for something to eat
out on the mud.

NARRATOR:
Like its big brothers,
this cuttlefish

has to grow fast,
and is often on the hunt.

But to catch a tiny glass shrimp

takes very good eyesight...

and patience.

Stalking its meal
in spiky disguise,

it aims its feeding tentacles
like a pool player,

ready to hit the target.

(quiet crunching)

(crunching)

Eat and be eaten.

For every creature,
there's a hunter lurking.

These open plains
don't offer much cover,

and to be out and about in broad
daylight is risky--

especially if you're
neither fast nor big.

Predators are a constant threat,

and this is when
the Flamboyant cuttlefish

earns its name.

Whenever it feels threatened,
it puts on an alarming display.

NORMAN:
When something comes too close,

they'll flare up the arms
and they walk around

flashing these colors
and advertising

these really bright
color patterns.

And I think
this is advertising the fact

that they're poisonous to eat.

If anybody gets too close,

even, like, a diver,

they show all the bright colors
and it says:

"Back off. I'm poisonous."

It's either pretending
it's deadly as hell

and trying to mimic something
else that is dangerous,

or it's walking around confident
that it, itself, is deadly.

NARRATOR:
Clearly, the Flamboyant
stands out

from the rest
of the cuttle pack.

But is it just a big bluff

or the real thing?

Is it poisonous or not?

To find out,
Mark and Ronald need to look

for a full-grown animal,

and freshly laid eggs
are a good sign

that a mature female
has passed through recently.

Hidden under coconut shells,
they find some Flamboyant eggs.

The mother should be nearby.

In this bleak landscape,

it's a challenge
for a Flamboyant mother

to find a safe spot
for her eggs.

Without rocks or caves,

old shells are
the next best thing.

Compared to the egg-laying
frenzy of her Giant cousins,

hers is a quiet affair.

She lays up to a hundred eggs,
a truly exhausting task.

And with the laying done,
she'll soon die naturally.

But there's one more important
mission she can help with:

assisting Mark
with his toxin studies.

NORMAN:
If this animal does turn out
to be deadly, to be toxic,

it will be the first cuttlefish
in the world

that's known to be poisonous.

We could be seeing
a whole change

in the evolution
of these animals.

I'm really fascinated in what it
is about them that's poisonous.

Do they have a poisonous bite?
Is all their flesh poisonous?

Can they squirt poisonous ink?

NARRATOR:
Mark will have to take her back

to the venom labs in Australia

to unravel
her potentially deadly secret.

The winter storms
have finally passed,

and the deserted mating grounds

of the Australian
Giant cuttlefish

slowly begin to warm.

The parents died
more than three months ago,

but the next generation
of Giants

is just getting started.

Sheltered
in their rocky nurseries,

the eggs enclose
pin-sized embryos.

Sucking up energy from the yolk,

they've grown eight arms,
red-dot eyes,

and their family trait--
the cuttlebone.

In the final month,

the embryos' eyes fully develop
and, still hanging upside down,

they start moving around.

By now, the egg's soft shell

has stretched
to double its size,

and the bodies have outgrown
the yolk ball.

Once they start
floating upright,

the little Giants prepare
for the outside world.

All their organs are now
developed, and they can already

change the color
and shape of their skin.

After about four months,

they squirt a special acid
from the tip of their tail

to burn a hatching hole
through the rubbery shell.

Barely the size of a fingernail,

the tiny Giants emerge
like miniature adults,

with suckers, ink and all.

Nobody knows
how many will survive.

In a few days, they'll start
hunting tiny shrimp,

and perfect their
shape-shifting repertoire.

But they've got to watch out.

They are on the menu
for almost anything with a fin.

Sharks, big fish, seals-?
they all love cuttlefish.

Their meaty bodies
without spines or armor

make cuttlefish
a protein-rich meal.

Camouflage is the cuttlefish's
main defense.

While they're invisible,
they're safe.

But once the cover is blown,

their only chance is to
disappear behind an inky cloud.

Dolphins have developed
a special taste for cuttlefish.

But rather than gorging
on the whole body,

they prefer to just pick off
their soft arms and heads.

Leaving behind tattered bodies,

they provide a free meal
for many more creatures.

But cuttlefish don't just end up
on ocean dwellers' menus.

In many countries, humans
are one of cuttlefish's

most voracious predators.

Cuttlefish, octopus and squid
are eaten around the globe,

harvested on a large scale.

The total reported world catch

is more than three million tons
per year,

worth more than $6 billion.

Our taste for all things
calamari overwhelms

even their best camouflage.

But is there one cuttlefish
no one should ever eat?

Back at Australia's Institute
for Molecular Bioscience

in Queensland,
Mark Norman is about to find out

if the colorful Flamboyant
cuttlefish is truly poisonous

or just a poseur.

That's worth looking at.

NORMAN:
Toxicity is really rare
in these sorts

of animals.

There's thousands
of species of octopus,

squid and cuttlefish and,
in all the world,

there's only
Blue-Ringed octopuses,

and, just recently, the little
Striped Pajama squid,

are the only ones that are known
to be... to be poisonous,

to be very deadly.

And so, trying to understand

the behavior of this strange
little cuttlefish,

I think it's really important
that we find out

whether it's pretending to be
something else that's dangerous

or it, itself, is dangerous.

NARRATOR:
Toxins could be anywhere,

from the skin
to the inner organs.

If the Flamboyant's bite
is toxic, its saliva will

contain the poison, just as
in the Blue-Ringed octopus.

But it could also be mixed in
with its ink.

Mark needs to analyze
all body parts.

And the results?

NORMAN:
Well, it turns out the
Flamboyant cuttlefish is toxic.

It's... it's as toxic
as Blue-Ringed octopuses,

and Blue-Ringed octopuses have
killed humans from their bites.

So we've got the first deadly
cuttlefish in the world,

and it's amazing
on a couple of levels.

First of all,
it's actually poisonous flesh--

the muscles themselves
are poisonous.

So this is the first time
that flesh that is deadly

has been reported in any
of these groups of animals.

And secondly, the toxin itself
is not known.

It's some completely different
class of toxins.

And toxins like those
could be the key

to whole new discoveries

for lots
of human medical conditions.

NARRATOR:
But beyond any potential
medical use,

the toxin is exciting to Mark

because it helps explain
the Flamboyant cuttlefish's

oversized confidence.

NORMAN:
This is a fantastic result

because it makes sense of what
we're seeing in the wild.

And this toxicity,
this poisonousness,

is probably what's underpinning

the whole weird behavior
of the animal.

And the fact that
a group of animals

that normally swim around,

or spend a lot of time
trying to be camouflaged,

have become so obvious,
have given up swimming,

are walking everywhere...

it's like a major step
towards a whole new line

in the evolution
of these animals.

NARRATOR:
Evolution means change.

So, maybe
in a few million years,

the Flamboyant will march
on eight legs

right onto the beaches.

Or the Broadclub
will hypnotize its predators

as well as its prey.

Perhaps the Australian Giants

will invent even more
daring strategies

to outwit their rivals.

Cuttlefish are amazing
and perplexing creatures,

and we're still trying
to understand

how all this talent evolved.

PURDY:
We are testing an animal
that's very alien.

I mean, it's as close, perhaps,
as we're going to get

to studying
an animal on another planet.

And is that exciting?

That's very exciting.

HANLON:
We do not know how smart or
clever a cuttlefish is,

because every time we go and do
a serious bit of field work

or a lab experiment,
we continue to learn new things

about their capabilities

for learning or memory
or hiding.

So I think we have
much more to learn.

NORMAN:
I hope, in my 80s and 90s,

I'm still wandering around
underwater

with a walking frame
following these things around,

because it'll
take a hundred lifetimes

to get a handle
on these animals.

NARRATOR:
Cuttlefish continue to dazzle
with their outward displays.

But exactly what goes on
inside their heads

will remain, for now,
the real mystery.

This NOVA program is available
on DVD at shopPBS.org,

or call 1-800-play-PBS.