The neurally controlled colour patterns of cephalopod molluscs, and the spatial distribution of the spots in the skin that supply the display elements for these patterns, have been followed during different stages of the life history. The resulting description links physiological with morphogenetic processes of pattern generation and provides a novel contribution to understanding some network properties of this and other systems. Upon denervation of one side of the animal, each of the several

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... nerations of spots turns out to be a separate 'neural' net composed mainly of muscles. Waves of colour propagate through these networks with unstable periodicities and in semi-random directions. They are manifestations of the intrinsic connectivity and conductances of the networks. The role of the nervous system is to control the chaos of myogenic origin by modulating either conduction or coupling in the networks. Squid Spots Colour/size Hierarchy