7/28/2019 Flamboyant Cuttlefish

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It was not the best time of the year to dive Dumaguete,Philippines, risking poor visibility and lack of natural light onthe reef but the changing winds gave rise to some excellent

diving and our expectations rose in anticipation of seeing a w iderange of reef life.

  The black sand of the Atlantis Dive Resort's house reef w as

the type of site that brings back memories of nondescript reefsthat can be uninspiring but this was not to be. Within its muck

environment the sloping reef of sand and grass leads to an openarea with a 6 meter-tall coral block, here a group of commonlionfish claimed it as their home and hunting grounds. What wasnot immediately apparent were the two tiny figures scuttlingaround underneath them making their way as if on rails aroundthe outcrop on the open sand.

Courting In ProgressSurprised, we moved in closer to see that we had found our

 jewel, the Pfeffer’s flamboyant cuttlefish — not just an individualbut a pair and quite undaunted by our presence. The male beingsomewhat smaller followed diligently behind the female as if 

connected by an invisible rope. Their rather drab exteriors were atotal surprise from what we expected to see — where ware thestrikingly bold, colorful creature of so much repute.

As we settled down to observe their movements it was obvi-ous that they were getting agitated, we thought for a momentthat it could be due to our presence but we were not alone,another male was closing in for some unwanted attention. Wewere to experience a dramatic change in the outward appearance

of the pair. Clearly resenting arrival of the intruder, the couple'scamouflaged skin began to burst into an array of pulsating colorsin quick succession of white, dark chocolate, intense yellow and a vibrant vermilion red.

 The dutiful male was suddenly trans formed into protectorand escort, coming between the female and suitor to ward off theintruder by performing a series of deliberate moves and displayinghis forceful strength of colors for dramatic effect. For now the pairresumed their exploration of the surroundings and we returnedelated to our safety stop.

 Text & Photo | David & Debi Henshaw

侏羅紀巨鯊

Most recreational divers have a wish list of creatures they long to see and the elusive flamboyantcuttlefish is one of them.儘管過去數十個世紀以來，所有的研究調查從未間斷過，但關於這世界上最大鯊魚的種種，仍舊充滿許多的謎團。

Flamboyant 

Cuttlefish

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7/28/2019 Flamboyant Cuttlefish

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Closer inspection was needed and with no guarantees we re-turned in hope of another encounter. We soon found the pair againwith no “third-party” in sight. This particular area was obviouslythe chosen territory and they did not move away from this area of perhaps some 200 square meters. They busied themselves forag-ing, occasionally displaying to each other or when they venturedwithin close proximity to us. It was unusual to be able to spend somuch time with the pair, so close that we could see all the detailsthey had to offer.

From the special outline of the “W” shaped eye to the exquisiteshimmering pale blue that forms the fin around the body. The detailis incredible, the hues and tones v isibly changing before our eyes areunique to the group of cephalopods and although they differ in ap-pearance by species, they are a unique spectacle of the reefs.

Fact of Life Witnessing natural behaviour was not unexpec ted over all this

time but we were delighted to play spectator to their extraordinaryfeeding techniques with their darting pair of feeding tentacles. Thisspecialized tongue, known as a radula reminds you of the feedingtechnique of a chameleon as it strikes its prey. With fantasticspeed and accuracy, the unlucky prey is then broken and chewedby a pair of beaks forming parts of the mouth and finally swal-lowed and digested.

A few days later, further inspection of the area revealed twoplaces where the female had laid eggs — 26 in all. They had beencarefully positioned to the underside of half coconut shells but sur-prisingly at different ends of the pair’s territory. We suspected thatthere would be more locations around their domain but they wereto remain undiscovered. The eggs are affixed to the chosen nurseryby the females’ production of an adhesive secretion that securesthe eggs firmly in place until they hatch.

After making several more dives over the next week we discov-ered that the pair were no longer there; bringing the reality homethat death after breeding is inevitable.

A disappointing conclusion? No, we had been privileged to beable to see so much of these wonderful creatures and at such aperiod of their life that we presume few people have experienced.

Adjoining dive sites were host to many other Flamboyant Cut-tlefish but as individuals, not pairs, they were not as cooperative asthe pair we saw as they took on a whole new persona in being war yand defensive. Perhaps we were just lucky on our first encounter.

top: Eggs were found "cemented" to the underside of a coconut shell.

上圖：XXX 。

每年十一月至十二月間，每逢特定的滿月夜晚，兩百種珊瑚會集體同時產卵（只有夏威夷的珊瑚會在白天繁殖）。而在每年的四月到七

月，有一群大約兩百隻左右的鯨鯊們，也會聚集在西澳的寧哥路珊瑚

礁。

擁有70年壽命的鯨鯊（Rhincodon typus），是地球上體型最大的魚類，成魚可以長到18公尺長，重量則可達20公噸左右。在赤道帶附近，介於北緯30度與南緯30度間的溫帶地區，都可以看得到牠們的蹤跡。

獨特的進食方式儘管牠們有著龐大的身軀，鯨鯊一樣隸屬於鬚鯊家族的成員之一，

而且只濾食浮游生物與小魚，因此牠們被這豐沛肥沃的食物寶庫吸引

而至。

上千顆細小的牙齒排列成300到350不等的行列，但它們並非用來咀嚼的器官。相反的，這些龐然大物吸進大量的海水，利用牠們每側五

片魚鰓上的網狀鰓耙，過濾篩取其中的浮游生物。呼吸時，鯨鯊張開

的嘴巴約莫有20公分大，不過當牠進食時，嘴巴可是能夠張大到60公分，甚至更大。

體內繁育工廠早先的研究已經指出，一直要到30歲，雄鯨鯊牠們的性徵才會完全

成熟。新生的鯨鯊寶寶大約有55至70公分長，而且還在鯨鯊媽媽的體內時便已從卵中孵化，這也就是所謂的卵胎生繁殖。

鯨鯊生下的寶寶是所有鯊類中體型最大的。1995年，一隻懷有330尾寶寶的九米長鯨鯊，在台灣海峽遭到獵捕。她體內未出世的那些幼

鯨鯊，長約45至65公分，各處於不同的發育階段，由此可推斷，此尾雌鯨鯊在遷徙的過程中和不同的雄鯨鯊交配，使得牠的體內的卵子分

別在不同的時期受精。

奇妙景象

有件有趣的事值得一提，那就是一直以來都沒有任何報告記載到長度介於一米到四米的鯨鯊被捕捉，直到1993年，在墨西哥科特斯海發生了這個罕見的特殊事件：許多幼鯨鯊在海面上熱烈的覓食著，

牠們追捕魚群時，甚至還翻覆了當地的漁船。

2007年，有人在安達曼海拍攝到一尾一米長的鯨鯊寶寶自在悠游身影，這個影像也在當時被視為有史以來所觀察到最小的活體鯨鯊

接著，2009年的三月，在菲律賓東方的董索鎮，有一尾鯨鯊寶寶被綁在泥濘的沙灘上待售，「世界自然基金會」營救了這尾39公分（英吋）長的鯨鯊，牠也成了所有記載中仍有生命的最年幼小鯨鯊。

位「世界自然基金會」的發言人表示，這項新發現可以表示董索鎮海岸線有可能就是這些巨大鯨鯊的繁殖分娩場所。

這些巨鯊的體型相當有趣。相對細小的雙眼崁在下顎的後方，證

了鯨鯊是棲息於黝黑的深海中。由於牠並不常使用牠的雙眼，所以

鯊是透過下顎更下面的孔穴【羅倫茲壺腹】去偵側獵物與其行動。學家推論鯨鯊寶寶出生後會一頭栽進深海處，直到年歲已大才會再

現身。

行為模式的探索科學家們在塞席爾群島和南非探索調查著印度洋的鯨鯊族群，並

塞席爾群島以無線電追蹤一些鯨鯊。他們發現印度洋鯨鯊會以六個

月為一週期，進行一趟往南非南端，距離有4,500公里遠的遷徙之旅但牠們傳送的衛星訊號最後卻越來越微弱，因此科學家們推論，鯨

可能會在寒冬期間潛入非洲南岬深海中冬眠。然而，一些被追蹤的

它鯊魚，則沿著非洲海岸北行至紅海。

儘管過去數十個世紀以來，所有的研究調查從未間斷過，但關於

生鯨鯊族群的種種仍然渾沌未明。牠們能夠長到多大，牠們可以活

久，以及牠們有哪些遷徙的行為模式，這些都是科學家一直以來汲

於尋求解答的基本疑問。就如同許多其它種類的動物，鯨鯊的交配

為，也仍舊不曾被人類親眼目睹過。

top: Pfeffer’s Flamboyant Cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) strikes it’s prey

with deadly accuracy.

上圖：XXX 。

狂  野  世  界

EZ  Wild World

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