Common bobtail (Sepietta oweniana)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

A small cuttlefish between 35-50 cm in length, with an ovoid body shape. The dorsal pair of arms between the eyes are linked by a membrane. The fins are short and oval.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Found on all British and Irish coasts

Global distribution

Northeast Atlantic; Norway (northern limit undetermined) to Morocco and the Mediterranean Sea.

Habitat

Found over muddy bottoms

Depth range

50-600m

Identifying features

  • Mantle blunt and bullet-shaped.
  • Fins with a slight lateral angle and pronounced anterior lobes.
  • Tentacular clubs with about 32 very minute, subequal suckers in transverse rows.

Additional information

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Bibliography

  1. Bergstrom, Bo I., 1985. Aspects of natural foraging by Sepietta oweniana (Mollusca, Cephalopoda). Ophelia, 24, 65-74.

  2. Boyle, P.R. (ed.), 1983. Cephalopod Life Cycles, vol 1. Species Accounts. London: Academic Press Inc. (London) Ltd.

  3. Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.

  4. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  5. Miramand, P. & Bentley, D., 1992. Concentration and distribution of heavy metals in tissues of two cephalopods, Eledone cirrhosa and Sepia officinalis, from the French coast of the English Channel. Marine Biology, 114, 407-414.

  6. Roper, C.F.E., Sweeney, M.J. & Nauen, C.E., 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 3. Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species of interest to fisheries. FAO Fisheries Synopsis, 125, 3, 277. Avaliable: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ac479e/ac479e00.htm

Datasets

  1. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2023. Mollusc (marine) records for Great Britain and Ireland. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/aurwcz accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

  2. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  3. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2026. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2026-05-14

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Wilson, E. 2006. Sepietta oweniana Common bobtail. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 14-05-2026]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1106

Last Updated: 06/11/2006

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