Sepia pulchra explained

Sepia pulchra is a species of cuttlefish native to the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, specifically off the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. It lives at depths of between 15 and 50 m.^{[1] [2]}

The type specimen was collected off Llandudno, Cape Peninsula. It is deposited at the South African Museum in Cape Town.^[3]

Description

Sepia pulchra grows to a mantle length of 22 mm. It has a warty mantle and is reddish-brown in colour with a large purple patch on the back. It has fins of variable width, which are usually fairly wide, beginning relatively far back on the body. There are three-pronged cirri over each eye.

Ecology

This cuttlefish is usually found on vertical surface, with its head facing downwards. It is seldom spotted because of its excellent camouflage.

Notes and References

1. Roeleveld, M.A.C. & W.R. Liltved 1985. A new species of Sepia (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae) from South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 96(1): 1-18.
2. Reid, A., P. Jereb, & C.F.E. Roper 2005. Family Sepiidae. In: P. Jereb & C.F.E. Roper, eds. Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date. Volume 1. Chambered nautiluses and sepioids (Nautilidae, Sepiidae, Sepiolidae, Sepiadariidae, Idiosepiidae and Spirulidae). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 4, Vol. 1. Rome, FAO. pp. 57–152.
3. http://www.mnh.si.edu/cephs/newclass.pdf Current Classification of Recent Cephalopoda