Squid-like cuttlefish are known for their amazing camouflage abilities, thanks to specialized skin cells that allow them to change color in the blink of an eye. Now research finds that these clever mollusks use their color-changing abilities in creative ways: by pretending to be the other gender.

Well, half-pretending, that is.  

When a male cuttlefish is wooing a lady, he often "cheats" by painting typical female patterns on one side of his body, while the other side (the one facing the female)  shows off typical male patterns. This gender-bending disguise fools rival males into thinking they're seeing just a couple of ladies hanging out. That means more of an opportunity for the cheater cuttlefish to mate.

"By using this sneaky display, the males are buying more time to convince the girls to mate before they are discovered by other males," said study researcher Culum Brown, a biologist at Macquarie University in Australia.