| Ascarosepion cultratum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Sepiida |
| Family: | Sepiidae |
| Genus: | Ascarosepion |
| Species: | A. cultratum |
| Binomial name | |
| Ascarosepion cultratum | |
Ascarosepion cultratum, commonly known as the knifebone cuttlefish or elongated cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish from the family Sepiidae endemic to the southern Indo-Pacific. It is a deepwater species found in subtropical and temperate Australian waters. [3]
The type specimen was collected in Twofold Bay, New South Wales and was described by William Evans Hoyle in 1885. [4]
Ascarosepion cultratum has a pale buff pinkish brown colour. It has a crescent-shaped club with a flattened sucker bearing 5 or 6 small suckers in transverse rows. The cuttlebone is an elongate oval shape with triangular pointed anterior and narrow posterior ends. It has a salmon-coloured dorsal surface with ribbing: the median rib is distinct and narrow, flanked by two faint lateral ribs. Its mantle grows to a maximum size of 12 cm. [3]
Its Australian distribution includes waters of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. [3]
The knifebone cuttlefish typically inhabits waters between 300 and 500 m deep. The species' known depth range extends from 132 to 803 m. [3]
