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Cartoon of Flamboyant cuttlefish
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Flamboyant cuttlefish

Metasepia pfefferi
Cone snails & octopuses๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Poisonous to eatPoisonous, not venomous
Danger to people: PainfulIt can really hurt, but it is almost never serious.

Flamboyant cuttlefish belongs to the group: Cone snails & octopuses. It lives in: The oceans.2

Poisonous or venomous? Venomous animals inject venom with a bite or a sting. Poisonous animals are harmful to touch or to eat. This one is poisonous.
Lives in
The oceans2
Length
7 cm (2.8 in)2
typical adult size
Top speed
about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)
Swimming, rough guess

Poison power

Poisonous to eat

It is only harmful if something eats it.

How dangerous is it to people?

Danger to people: PainfulIt can really hurt, but it is almost never serious.

๐Ÿš‘ If someone touched or ate it

  • Pressure immobilisation: wrap a firm elastic bandage over the bite and then up the whole limb, splint it, and keep the person completely still until help arrives.
  • A blue-ringed octopus or cone snail can stop a person breathing while they are still awake: call for help and be ready to give rescue breaths until the ambulance takes over.

Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics

โ›‘๏ธ Stay safe

  • Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
  • Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
  • If you touched or ate it: do not rub your eyes or mouth, wash your hands and get medical help.

It is not out to get you. Its poison is only there so that nothing eats it. More about staying safe

How big is it?

How long is it?

Flamboyant cuttlefish about 7 cm long (2.8 in)๐ŸšA grain of rice about 7 mm (0.3 in)๐Ÿ“ŽA paper clip about 3 cm (1.2 in)๐ŸŒA banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 2 toy building bricks in a rowcould swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 12 seconds

How big is Flamboyant cuttlefish compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

For venom experts

Scientific name
Metasepia pfefferi
Group
Cone snails & octopuses
Family
Sepiidae1
Order
Sepiida
Continents
The oceans
Danger to people
2 / 5: Painful2

Where the facts come from

  1. Metasepia pfefferi (iNaturalist): names and classification.
  2. Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are animal fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Cone snails & octopuses

Also lives in: The oceans

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