| Sepia orbignyana | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Sepiida |
| Family: | Sepiidae |
| Genus: | Sepia |
| Subgenus: | Acanthosepion |
| Species: | S. orbignyana |
| Binomial name | |
| Sepia orbignyana | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Sepia orbignyana, the pink cuttlefish, is a species of small cuttlefish from the family Sepiidae. It is occurs in the temperate and tropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Sepia orbignyana is a fairly small cuttlefish, growing up to 12 cm in total length. [3] with the females generally being larger than males, male mantle length up to 84mm and females' up to 120mm. [4] It has a slim, oval body and relatively long arms, each having four rows of suckers. [3] There is an obvious lobe of the dorsal mantle which projects between the eyes and there is a prominent tip at the posterior end of the mantle, which lies in the gap between the posterior ends of the fins. The tentacular club is short and has its suckers arranged in five–six rows, with the middle series having three to four greatly enlarged suckers. [5] The hectocotylus is found on the left ventral arm and has one or two rows of suckers of normal size at the base, highly reduced suckers in the mid part and then normal size suckers towards the tip. The suckers on the hectocotylus are arranged in two dorsal and two ventral series each of which are laterally displaced to create a gap between them. Females have a single spermathecae situated medially on the ventral part of the buccal membrane. [4] It is often coloured rose or orange on the dorsal surface which has a faint ridge. [3]
The cuttlebone is long and thinly oblong in shape with a long posterior spine. having a width equal to one third of its length. [3] and distinct lateral wings. [5]
This species is largely sympatric with Sepia elegans , another relatively small species of cuttlefish but S. orbignyana can be identified from S. elegans by the fins almost reaching the very rear of the, and on having a higher number of suckers, over 100, on each tentacular club. [3] The juveniles resemble tiny adults. [5]
Sepia orbignyana occurs over a wide geographic distribution which extends from the Irish Sea, as far north as southwestern Scotland and English Channel south along the Atlantic coast of France, Spain and Portugal and into the Mediterranean Sea, where it is found throughout the sea, and south along the west coast of Africa as far as Angola. [1] [3] Off northwest Africa it is also found around the Sahara Seamounts. [4] It is most abundant in the Sicilian Channel. [1]
Sepia orbignyana is a demersal species [4] that occurs at depths of 50m to 450m over detritus-rich or muddy substrates on the continental shelf or continental slope. [3] It is often found in sympatry with S. elegans and S. officinalis but it seems to prefer to inhabit deeper parts of the sea than S. officinalis, and unlike that species it does not bury itself in the substrate. [1] In the Sea of Marmara it can be found in brackish water. In the Mediterranean spawning probably occurs continuously and adults of both sexes are present in similar numbers throughout the year, although breeding activity is thought to peak in the warmer months. In the Atlantic adults predominate in the spring off Portugal. There are no records of movements towards the coasts to spawn. Females grow faster than males and reach larger sizes In the Mediterranean males attain maturity at around 35mm in mantle length and at age 6–7 months while for females maturity is reached at a mantle length of 65mm and at the age of nine to ten months. The males have about 100 spermatophores and the females bear around 400 eggs. As the female increases in size so doe the diameter of the eggs she carries, reaching a maximum diameter of 7 to 8.5 mm. The eggs are laid in clusters of 30 to 40 which adhere to sponges growing on muddy bottoms. The diet of S. orbignyana is predominantly made up of crustaceans, with fish and cephalopods making up a minor part of the diet. [4]
Sepia orbignyana sometimes caught in high numbers as bycatch in trawls in parts of the Mediterranean Sea and in west African fisheries. It is also a quarry species in targeted fisheries such as in the Sicilian Channel. The catch is sold in local markets in either frozen or fresh form. In the south-western Adriatic multi-species trawl fishery it, together with S. elegans, is taken as bycatch and in the 2000s the catch greatly reduced, the reduction being blamed on overfishing. [1]
The specific name of Sepia orbignyana honours the French malacologist Alcide d'Orbigny. [6] being the editor of the Annales des Sciences Naturelles at the time André Étienne d'Audebert de Férussac published his description of the species, in 1826, from a type specimen collected at La Rochelle. [4] The type is held at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. [7]
Metasepia pfefferi, also known as the flamboyant cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish occurring in tropical Indo-Pacific waters off northern Australia, southern New Guinea, as well as numerous islands of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The flesh of this colorful cephalopod contains unique acids, making it unsuitable for consumption.
Sepia latimanus, also known as the broadclub cuttlefish, is widely distributed from the Andaman Sea, east to Fiji, and south to northern Australia. It is the most common cuttlefish species on coral reefs, living at a depth of up to 30 m.
The common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They grow to 49 cm in mantle length (ML) and 4 kg in weight. Animals from subtropical seas are smaller and rarely exceed 30 cm in ML.
Sepia elongata is a species of cuttlefish native to the northwestern Indian Ocean, specifically from the Red Sea to Somalia. The depth range of S. elongata is unknown.
Sepia mestus, also known as the reaper cuttlefish or red cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean, specifically Escape Reef off Queensland to Murrays Beach off Jervis Bay. Reports of this species from China and Vietnam are now known to be misidentifications. S. mestus lives at a depth of between 0 and 22 m.
Sepia novaehollandiae is a species of cuttlefish native to the southern Indo-Pacific. Its natural range stretches from Shellharbour, New South Wales to North West Shelf in Western Australia. It lives at depths of between 15 and 348 m.
Sepia australis, the southern cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish which is found in the eastern South Atlantic Ocean and the western Indian Ocean off the coasts of Southern Africa, possibly extending into the waters off East Africa.
Sepia hedleyi, or Hedley's cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish in the family Sepiidae, endemic to subtropical and temperate waters off Australia.
Sepiola atlantica, also known as the Atlantic bobtail, is a species of bobtail squid native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Sepia zanzibarica, or the Zanzibar cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish native to the Indian Ocean.
Sepiella inermis is a species of cuttlefish in the family Sepiidae. S. inermis is indigenous to the Indo-Pacific region. In this region, Sepiella inermis is an economically important species, and is sold and eaten.
Sepia prashadi, common name hooded cuttlefish, is a widely distributed species of cuttlefish. It has a thin, oval body and grows from 5 to 11 cm. The tips of the tentacles have a distinct club shape. S. prashadi is a migratory, demersal cuttlefish living in shallow waters at depths of approximately 40 to 50 metres. It is found in many locations including the east coast of Africa, around India, in the Red Sea, and Persian Gulf.
Sepia braggi, the slender cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It has been found in coastal waters of southern Australia. This species was first collected in South Australia by its namesake, William Lawrence Bragg. Sepia braggi was then described by Sir Joseph Cooke Verco in 1907.Sepia braggi is part of the subgenus Doratosepion which contains to 41 species of cuttlefish in total.
Sepia elegans, the elegant cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish in the family Sepiidae from the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important species for fisheries in some parts of the Mediterranean where its population may have suffered from overfishing.
Euprymna morsei, the Mimika bobtail squid, is a species of Indo-Pacific bobtail squid from the family Sepiolidae.
Sepia bertheloti, the African cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish from the family Sepiidae which is found in the warmer waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Africa.
Sepia hierredda, the giant African cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish from the family Sepiidae, which was previously considered conspecific with the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis. It is found along the western coast of Africa and is an important species to fisheries.
Alloteuthis media, the midsize squid or little squid is a species of squid in the family Loliginidae from the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. It is generally a by catch species in trawl fisheries, although there is an active fishery in the western Mediterranean.
Loliolus is a genus of squid from the family Loliginidae from the Indo-Pacific region. The genus is divided into two subgenera Loliolus and Nipponololigo. They are small squids of less than 150mm in mantle length which have an expanded tentacular club. This club has 4 series of suckers. The sucker rings have plate-like teeth which are square in shape all around them. The males' hectocotylus has a ventral crest which is created by the fusion of the protective membrane with the ventral series of papillae and this crest completely obscures the conical shape of the papillae. The mantle is rounded posteriorly and lacks the posterior tail-like lobe while the fins are positioned on the rear of the mantle and extend to the posterior tip of the mantle. Their eggs are small and the males' spermatophore has a short cement body. They do not possess photophores. The two subgenera are distinguished by the hectocotylus which in Loliolus encompasses the entire arm and there are no unmodified suckers while in Nipponololigo the arm is only partly hectocotylsed and has normal suckers at its base.
Lolliguncula is a genus of squid from the family Loliginidae from the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic, known as brief squid. The genus is divided into two subgenera Lolliguncula and Loliolopsis. They are rather small squids with a maximum mantle length of 120mm, that inhabit shallow warm seas, although some species have been recorded in areas of low salinity. They are typified by having a short mantle, which is round at the posterior; and fins that are broader than long, but which have no posterior lobes. The males produce spermatophores with a long cement body and they lack a ventral crest on their hectocotylus. Their suckers have square teeth which ring the entire margin or are placed distally. The males do not have enlarged suckers on the left ventral arm. The tentacular club is expanded and contains suckers in four series. The two subgenera differ in the morphology of the hectocotylus.
