Rpm53 said:
I volunteer at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. We have several new cuttles. I notice when stalking prey, they often have two "arms" up high. Does anyone know why this is? Perhaps a distraction to the prey?
Hmmmmmm. Interesting observation! The same thing occurs in
Sepioteuthis (non cuttle) that we have here.
I have noticed this most often when squid stocking density is high, and/or when new prey is added to the tank that is of comparable size to larger than the squid (they're sizing it up); try and see if they are scrunching their eyes forward, along the arms. They don't do it to me, as in facing me (so I don't think this is an agressive posture to me, as a potential threat to them), but this seems to be something between individuals in the tank and/or their prey. Moreover, the dorsal arms on
Sepioteuthis are considerably shorter than the lateral arms (those held high), and when the arms are held high like this I notice that the dorsal arms are also lowered to cover the buccal mass/bulb. If it was a sign of aggression I would have thought that the beaks would have been exposed to a potential aggressor/threat.
Oh to get inside the pin-sized brain of a squid!
By the way,

there Rpm53