A large male will try to act as a “consort” to a female, monopolizing her and keeping other males away. When a rival male approaches, the consort and the intruder begin competitive displays. The two males will lie side by side quite close in the water. Each will stretch out as far as it can, often with a gentle curve in its body. They will blaze with color changes and patterns. Having stretched one way, a cuttlefish will often turn 180 degrees around and stretch out in the other direction. This turning, unfussed and deliberate, looks like a dance from the court of some civilized French king.
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