(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – The Shedd Aquarium is welcoming an unusual creature back into its waters.
The flamboyant cuttlefish, a color-changing cephalopod, is returning to the aquarium’s Wild Reef exhibit.
Despite its name, a cuttlefish is in the cephalopod class along with squid and octopus. Instead of swimming, they “walk” along the floors of the exhibit with their arms and fin-like legs or “dance” through the water as they swim.
These animals are actually very poisonous and use their colorful exterior of strobing purple, yellow, brown, maroon, and white markings to distract their prey, communicate, and warn predators of their toxicity.
In the wild, the flamboyant cuttlefish lives in Eastern Indian and west-central Pacific Oceans on coral reefs, among shallow seagrasses and sand flats, according to the Shedd Aquarium. Unlike other cuttlefish, this species only lives at the bottom of the ocean, making it truly benthic.
They are one of a few species at the aquarium that eat live prey.
The Wild Reef is home to sharks, clownfish, moray, and starfish, among other animals.
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