Sepia (cephalopod) explained

Sepia is a genus of cuttlefish in the family Sepiidae encompassing some of the best known and most common species. The cuttlebone is ellipsoid in shape. The name of the genus is the Latinised form of the Ancient Greek (sēpía) "cuttlefish".

Anatomy

All members of Sepia share the presence of eight arms and two tentacles. Tentacles are retractable limbs used to target and latch onto prey, whereas arms are used for handling prey and producing patterns of light and dark to distract prey. Once a prey item has been caught, the tentacles detach from it and have no other function. The tentacles reside in sheaths that run below the eyes and behind the head, into the visceral mass, where they are reserved as coiled, spring-loaded appendages, waiting to be ejected towards a food target.

Classification

Genus Sepia
- Subgenus undetermined
  - ? Sepia bartletti
  - ? Sepia baxteri *
  - ? Sepia dannevigi *
  - ? Sepia elliptica, ovalbone cuttlefish
  - Sepia filibrachia
  - Sepia mira
  - Sepia plana
  - Sepia senta
  - Sepia subplana
  - ? Sepia whitleyana, Whitley's cuttlefish
- Subgenus Acanthosepion
  - Sepia aculeata, needle cuttlefish
  - Sepia brevimana, shortclub cuttlefish
  - Sepia esculenta, golden cuttlefish
  - Sepia lycidas, kisslip cuttlefish
  - Sepia prashadi, hooded cuttlefish
  - Sepia orbignyana, pink cuttlefish
  - Sepia recurvirostra, curvespine cuttlefish
  - Sepia savignyi, broadback cuttlefish
  - Sepia smithi, Smith's cuttlefish
  - Sepia stellifera
  - Sepia thurstoni
  - Sepia vecchioni^[1]
  - Sepia zanzibarica
- Subgenus Anomalosepia
  - Sepia australis, southern cuttlefish
  - Sepia omani, Oman cuttlefish
  - Sepia sulcata, grooved cuttlefish
- Subgenus Doratosepion
  - Sepia adami
  - Sepia andreana, Andrea cuttlefish
  - Sepia appelloefi
  - Sepia arabica, Arabian cuttlefish
  - Sepia aureomaculata
  - Sepia bathyalis
  - Sepia bidhaia
  - Sepia braggi, slender cuttlefish
  - Sepia burnupi
  - Sepia carinata
  - Sepia confusa
  - Sepia cottoni
  - Sepia elongata
  - Sepia erostrata
  - Sepia foliopeza
  - Sepia incerta
  - Sepia ivanovi
  - Sepia joubini
  - Sepia kiensis *
  - Sepia kobiensis, Kobi cuttlefish
  - Sepia koilados
  - Sepia limata
  - Sepia longipes, longarm cuttlefish
  - Sepia lorigera, spider cuttlefish
  - Sepia mascarensis
  - Sepia mirabilis
  - Sepia murrayi, frog cuttlefish
  - Sepia pardex
  - Sepia peterseni
  - Sepia rhoda
  - Sepia saya
  - Sepia sewelli
  - Sepia sokotriensis
  - Sepia subtenuipes
  - Sepia tala
  - Sepia tanybracheia
  - Sepia tenuipes
  - Sepia tokioensis
  - Sepia trygonina, trident cuttlefish
  - Sepia vercoi
  - Sepia vietnamica
- Subgenus Hemisepius
  - Sepia dubia
  - Sepia faurei
  - Sepia pulchra
  - Sepia robsoni
  - Sepia typica
- Subgenus Rhombosepion
  - Sepia acuminata
  - Sepia cultrata, knifebone cuttlefish
  - Sepia elegans, elegant cuttlefish
  - Sepia hedleyi, Hedley's cuttlefish
  - Sepia hieronis
  - Sepia madokai, Madokai's cuttlefish
  - ? Sepia opipara
  - Sepia reesi
  - Sepia rex
  - Sepia vossi
- Subgenus Sepia
  - Sepia angulata *
  - Sepia apama, Australian giant cuttlefish
  - Sepia bandensis, stumpy-spined cuttlefish
  - Sepia bertheloti, African cuttlefish
  - Sepia chirotrema
  - Sepia dollfusi
  - Sepia elobyana, Guinean cuttlefish
  - Sepia gibba
  - Sepia hierredda, giant African cuttlefish
  - Sepia insignis
  - Sepia irvingi
  - Sepia latimanus, broadclub cuttlefish
  - Sepia mestus, reaper cuttlefish
  - Sepia novaehollandiae, New Holland cuttlefish
  - Sepia officinalis, common cuttlefish
  - Sepia papillata
  - Sepia papuensis, Papuan cuttlefish
  - Sepia pharaonis, pharaoh cuttlefish
  - Sepia plangon, mourning cuttlefish
  - Sepia plathyconchalis
  - Sepia ramani
  - Sepia rozella, rosecone cuttlefish
  - Sepia simoniana
  - Sepia tuberculata
  - Sepia vermiculata

The species listed above with an asterisk (*) are questionable; they need further study to determine if they are a valid species or a synonym. The question mark (?) indicates questionable placement within the genus.

Extinct species

A number of extinct species have been described from the Neogene of Europe, though many of these are likely synonyms.^[2] They include:^[2]

Sepia bertii Foresti, 1890
Sepia complanata Bellardi, 1872
Sepia craversii Gastaldi, 1868
Sepia gastaldii Bellardi, 1872
Sepia granosa Bellardi, 1872
Sepia harmati Szörenyi, 1933
Sepia hungarica Lörenthey, 1898
Sepia isseli Bellardi, 1872
Sepia michelotti Gastaldi, 1868
Sepia rugulosa Bellardi, 1872
Sepia stricta Bellardi, 1872
Sepia verrucosa Bellardi, 1872
Sepia vindobonensis Schloenbach, 1869

External links

Web site: Katharina M. . Mangold . Richard E. . Young . 2016 . 10 November 2012 . Sepia . Tree of Life web project (tolweb.org) . 28 August 2023.

Notes and References

Neethiselvan . N. . Venkataramani . V.K. . 2010 . A new species of cuttlefish, Sepia vecchioni (Cephalopoda, Sepiidae) from Colachal coast, south India . Journal of American Science . 6 . 4 . 12–21 . dead . 1 May 2018 . 20 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180720194958/http://www.americanscience.org/journals/am-sci/am0604.
Hiden . H.R. . 1995 . Sepia vindobonensis (Cephalopoda, Coleoida) aus dem Mittel-Miozän von Retznei (Steiermark, Österreich) . de . Sepia vindobonensis (Cephalopoda, Coleoida) from the middle Miocene of Retznei (Styria, Austria) . Mitteilungen der Abteilung für Geologie und Paläontologie am Landesmuseum Joanneum [Communications from the Department of Geology and Palaeontology of the [Archduke] Johann State Museum] . 52–53 . 111–124 . 2012-11-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121222041811/http://www.museum-joanneum.at/upload/file/Geologie/Mitteilungen/52_53%205%20Hiden.pdf . 2012-12-22.