This species differs from the giant cuttle and mourning cuttle in it's reddish blotched colouration (although this one changed colour several times whilst being photographed), relatively round body and eyes with a smooth socket and yellow edge. The mourning cuttle has a long mantle that extends between the eyes, and the giant cuttle has skin flaps on it's body and behind the eyes.
Cuttlefish, like their cousin the octopus, have eight arms. Cuttlefish differ however in that they have in internal calcareous "shell" that is porous; they use this for buoyancy control in order to hover level. Their movement is largely controlled by fluttering fins along the side of their body. They also have two specialised tentacles; they can shoot them out to grasp their prey.