Common cuttlefish

The common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) 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 100–200 metres (330–660 ft) during autumn and winter. They grow to 49 centimetres (19 in) in mantle length and 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) in weight. Animals from subtropical seas are smaller and rarely exceed 30 centimetres (12 in) in mantle length.

This article is about the European common cuttlefish. For the South African common cuttlefish, see Sepia vermiculata.

Common cuttlefish
Common cuttlefish in Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Sepiida
Family: Sepiidae
Genus: Sepia
Subgenus: Sepia
Species:
S. officinalis
Binomial name
Sepia officinalis
Synonyms
  • Sepia rugosa Bowdich, 1822
  • Sepia vicellius Gray, 1849
  • Sepia zebrina Risso, 1854
  • Sepia filliouxi Lafont, 1869
  • ?Sepia fischeri Lafont, 1871
  • Sepia officinalis mediterranea Ninni, 1884
  • ?Sepia veranyi P. Fischer in Lagatu, 1888

The common cuttlefish is native to at least the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and Baltic Sea, although subspecies have been proposed as far south as South Africa. It lives on sand and mud seabeds and it can tolerate brackish water conditions.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.