Biodiversity & Conservation

Common cuttlefish - Sepia officinalis - General information

Sepia officinalis

Image David Nicholson - Two individuals hovering over the sea bed. Image width ca 50 cm.
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Distribution map

Sepia officinalis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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For more information on Sepia officinalis read about the CRESH project

Sepia officinalis is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Emily Wilson and Jaret Bilewitch Text page icon Refereed by: This information is not refereed.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Cephalopoda Cuttlefish, nautilus, octopus & squid
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Found mainly on southern and western coasts of Britain.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found on sandy and muddy substrata, shallow sublittoral and offshore to 200 m, but typically to 100 m depth.
Text page icon Description Body relatively broad and somewhat flattened so as to be oval in cross section. Paired fins run from behind the head to the tip of the body, but do not join. Arms are short and possess 4 rows of suckers while tentacular clubs possess 5-6 suckers in transverse rows. Dorsal margin of mantle with blunt lobe. Individuals are capable of very rapid colour change, especially when threatened; the animal may also take the colour or patterning of its background. Mantle reaching lengths up to 45 cm and weight up to 4 kg.

This review can be cited as follows:

Emily Wilson and Jaret Bilewitch 2009. Sepia officinalis. Common cuttlefish. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 20/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4333>