Watch: Rare footage of a shape-shifting cuttlefish fighting off a romantic rival

Cuttlefish, like other cephalopods, are highly intelligent. And as you would expect from an intelligent species, most of their fights are resolved with stares, skin-color changes, and other subtle messages.

When a lady is involved, however, all bets are off:

This rare footage has been published by researchers at Brown University and the University of Haifa in the American Naturalist. The video was captured in 2011, when the team was scuba diving in Turkey. After watching two cuttlefish mate, they observed another male approaching the couple. That’s when the fight broke out.

Such fights are rare is they expose the cephalopods to predators, and because cuttlefish take care not to damage their exquisite skin. And rightly so: It helps them pull off nature’s best camouflages.