Page 156 - Wonderful Creatures: Children! Have You Ever Thought ?

WONDERFUL CREATURES

CUTTLEFISH LIKE

JET ENGINES

Although it is called a "fish", unlike other fish, cuttlefish have no

bones in their bodies. You may wonder how these boneless fish
move along in water. Indeed, cuttlefish use a quite unusual means

of locomotion. The body of a cuttlefish, which is composed of soft
tissues, is covered with a thick layer of skin. By means of muscles

below this layer, a cuttlefish collects water within its body and
moves by squirting this water out.

The system of the cuttlefish based on squirting water is quite com-

plicated. There is a pocket-like opening on each side of the creatu-
re’s head. The water is drawn through these openings into a cylin-

der-like cavity. Then the cuttlefish jets out this water from a nar-
row pipe immediately under its head with great pressure. This

enables the animal to move swiftly in the opposite direction and
flee from predators because it can accelerate very suddenly. You

may be

wondering what would happen if it cannot move fast enough. In

this case the cuttlefish sprays a dark colored liquid produced in its
body towards its enemy. This spray of ink confuses the predator

for a few seconds, which is enough for the cuttlefish to get away.
It flees and disappears in the spray of ink.

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