Jet-Propelled Cuttlefish <seriously>

[Mike B in OKlahoma]

The cuttlefish is a relative of the squid--It's a mollusk, not a fish. It does swim around, however, normally swimming in a way that it can see where it's going (eyes first) and propell itself with the long "fin" on each side of it's body. A normally-swimming cuttlefish shot is here:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... cuttlefish

Note that when the above was posted (last September!) I promised to post this shot, and I'm just now getting around to it!

When it is disturbed, the cuttlefish can move faster. He squirts seawater out under pressure to give him a form of jet propulsion. This causes him to move backwards, but in an emergency, that's okay. To help him move along, his tentacles are just dangling behind in his slipstream, and the propulsion fin is flat against his body except for a small portion near his eye that I suspect is used as a sort of diving plane to control his depth. This all happens very fast, just what the squid needs to get away from predators.

While I was watching a pair of cuttlefish in an aquarium, something upset one of them, and he took off like a rocket across the tank. I had my camera set up on a tripod and just squeezed the shutter off reflexively, aiming by guess and by Gawd. I was VERY lucky, and caught him perfectly. Full frame just as you see here.

They look strange, but that IS his eye that you see at about his center, and that's how it normally appears. There is a slight blue glow off the pale lower side of his body in this and some of my other shots of him that I believe is him flourescing.....I could see some signs of it as I shot him, but it seems to show up better on the photos than in real life.

To give some idea of scale, he's not a huge subject. He's perhaps a foot long, tentacles and all.

European Cuttlefish
controlled situation
180mm macro lens
1/250th second @ f/16
ISO 160
flash as main light

[Ken Ramos]

So you're just getting round to showing us the other pic eh. Really a velvety looking creature and it does have very beautiful markings and colors, the eye looks very mysterious. Are they edible Mike? Some folks do eat squid you know.

[rjlittlefield]

Amazing job on this photo, Mike. You can protest that it was luck, but I'm reminded that luck favors the prepared person.

Any chance of posting a link to a full-resolution version? I would just love to see what that skin texture looks like in detail!

--Rik

[Mike B in OKlahoma]

Any chance of posting a link to a full-resolution version? I would just love to see what that skin texture looks like in detail!

Here are a couple of 100% crops. If there's another area you are dying to see, let me know and I'll post it another day! :-) Certain parts of these things (the rim under the "shell" that covers the body, for instance) are highly reflective, and clearly the eye is too. I'd missed the blown-out area in the eye when I first looked at this. There are some lines on the eye pupil that I assume are scratches on the aquarium he was in.

[Mike B in OKlahoma]

So you're just getting round to showing us the other pic eh. Really a velvety looking creature and it does have very beautiful markings and colors, the eye looks very mysterious. Are they edible Mike? Some folks do eat squid you know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuttlefish

"cuttlefish as food" in this article says they are used for food in Italy (though nobody ever offered me any while I was there!) where among other things, the black ink they can squirt is used to color rise in risotto nero. And dried cuttlefish is a snack food in some parts of Asia!!!!

[rjlittlefield]

"Working together, Mike and Fred demonstrated pointillism at its striking best."

(Fred's the cuttlefish...)

This would make one fine display print!

--Rik

[Mike B in OKlahoma]

"Working together, Mike and Fred demonstrated pointillism at its striking best."

(Fred's the cuttlefish...)

I have the feeling I'm missing a Far Side cartoon reference, but can't place it! Glad you enjoyed the crops!

If you really want an 8 1/2 by 11 inch print, PM me a PO box number and I'll send you one. :-)

[crocoite]

Fred looks pretty cool Mike. We collect cuttlefish "skeletons" from beaches in northern Tasmania as they are a great source of calcium for our cockatiels.

Also, cuttles are great at camoflaging themselves.

[beetleman]

Fantastic photo Mike....It is probably not luck that you caught him full frame I just had some squid (Calamari) Japanese style for lunch yesterday. I love it. Also great in the can with its own ink...look for it at the supermarket around the tuna (sorry, I`m Italian and my grandmother lived over a fishing pier on Long Island NY)

[rjlittlefield]

"Working together, Mike and Fred demonstrated pointillism at its striking best."

(Fred's the cuttlefish...)

I have the feeling I'm missing a Far Side cartoon reference, but can't place it! Glad you enjoyed the crops!

I wondered why that sounded familiar when I wrote it. It does sound like Far Side. I think I've seen every Far Side ever drawn, but I don't remember one like that either. I wonder what Larson would have done with the idea? (I miss him so much...sniffle...)

--Rik

[MacroLuv]

Delicious!

Calamari con vino e riso

1 lb. of squid-cleaned, and cut into rings
cooked risotto(see recipe in side dishes)
2 tbls. of olive oil
1 garlic clove-crushed
1/4 cup of red wine
1 tbl. of parsley-chopped
salt, and pepper

prepare risotto/heat oil in covered sauce pan/brown garlic/add squid, and saute for 5 minutes/add wine,salt,pepper, and parsley/cover, and simmer about 10 minutes/serve over risotto.

Calamari con fagioli

1/4 cup of olive oil
3 slices of bacon-diced
½ onion, sliced fine
1 garlic clove- crushed
14 oz can chopped tomatoes
8 small squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
2 x 15 oz cans of cannelini beans
salt and pepper
chopped parsley to garnish

Heat oil in a large saucepan and fry the bacon , onion and garlic until bacon is browned/ Add the tomatoes and squid, stir well, cover and simmer very slowly for about 1 hour/ Add the beans,salt and pepper/ Simmer for 20 mins more and serve garnished with parsley

Calamari ripieni con ricotta e spinaci

2 lbs. of squid-skinned,and cleaned
1 Medium-sized onion-minced
1 Garlic clove-minced
2 tbls. Olive oil
1 tbl.butter 1/2 lb Fresh spinach,or 1/2 of frozen package
2/3 lb Ricotta chees
e 1 Egg
1 tbl.parsley-chopped
sat,and pepper
1/4 cup of white wine
2 cups of Canned plum tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees/Clean the squid and chop the tentacles fine/Saute the onion and the garlic in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the butter until the onion is soft/Add the tentacles and cook for 2 minutes/Add the spinach and saute until it has wilted/squeeze out any excess liquid from the spinach and set aside/ In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, parsley, and the spinach/ Mix thoroughly and season with salt, pepper/Stuff the mixture loosely into the squid and close the openings with toothpicks/place 2 tbls.of olive oil in a baking dish large enough to hold the squid in one layer/place the squid in the dish and add the wine,tomatoes,salt,and pepper/ Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the squid is tender

Calamares en su Tinta (Squid Stewed in Their Ink)

Ingredients
1/2 pound (about 1 large) tomatoes, unpeeled and roughly chopped
1 small white onion, roughly chopped
1 small green bell pepper, cleaned of veins and seeds and roughly chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed, roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
12 small garlic cloves, peeled
6 tbsp fruity olive oil
1 pound cleaned squid, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Sea salt to taste
1 large California bay leaf, broken up
1 scant tsp sugar
1 tsp squid ink, approximately, diluted in 2 tbsp vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Put the tomatoes, onion, green pepper, parsley, and 4 of the garlic cloves into a blender jar and blend for a few seconds to make a textured puree. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan or a saute pan, add 4 garlic cloves, slivered, and fry until a very dark brown. Remove the garlic and discard. Put the remaining garlic cloves, slivered, into the pan with the squid, sprinkle with salt, and stir quickly, tossing it from time to time (really a stir-fry), for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the tomato puree, bay leaf, sugar, squid ink, and pepper and cook quickly for about 6 minutes to reduce the sauce. The squid should be tender but still a little al dente. If the sauce is still a little too liquid but the squid is cooked, tip the pan to one side and reduce the sauce for 4 minutes more.

This dish is best served on a bed of plain white rice.

Yield: 4 servings

Christmas Eve Special Squid

Ingredients
2 pounds squid, dressed (head and tentacles separated, mantle removed and the pen discarded)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups canned peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper
12 Italian black olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts

Instructions
Cut the squid into small pieces and wash well. In a medium saucepan, saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil until golden brown. Add the squid, tomatoes, water and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the olives, raisins and pine nuts, added extra of any if you wish. Cover again and simmer for 10 more minutes until squid is tender. Arrange slices of crusty Italian bread in serving bowls and spoon the squid and sauce over the bread.

Yield: 6 servings

[Mike B in OKlahoma]

Delicious!

I wonder if the owners of the public aquarium where these two cuttlefish are would mind if I dined out on their animals? :-D