New research reveals that cuttlefish use arm gestures to communicate, adding a new dimension to their already complex communication toolkit. Neuroscientists Sophie Cohen-Bodénès and Peter Neri conducted the research, which is available on the preprint server bioRxiv.
The study involved observing cuttlefish of the species S. officinalis and S. bandensis in a laboratory setting. Researchers recorded the cuttlefish making spontaneous signs with their arms and identified four distinct types of gestures: Up, side, roll, and crown.
The cuttlefish responded more often to right-side-up videos of the gestures, usually returning the gesture displayed. They also waved back at vibrations that replicated the gestures, suggesting that cuttlefish communication involves multiple senses. The meaning of these arm gestures remains a mystery, with possibilities ranging from dominance displays to expressions of mood.